


Traveling the Stars

by the_impatient_panda



Series: The Life of the Lizard Woman from the Dawn of Time [2]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Circus Vastra, F/F, F/M, Filling In Stuff, First Meetings, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Siblings, Violence, companion Vastra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:27:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 30,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25465492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_impatient_panda/pseuds/the_impatient_panda
Summary: Awoken millions of years in the future to instant tragedy, Vastra's mind is shattered...thankfully there is a Doctor there to help her put it back together again.WARNING:INCOMPLETE Has a beginning middle, and end. Sandwiches nicely between 'The Scaled Beginnings' and 'Taming of the Lizard'. Definitely some skeleton dialogue and a few scenes that are barely more than notes. Several that are nicely fleshed out. Love it or hate it at your own risk. :)
Relationships: Tenth Doctor & Vastra
Series: The Life of the Lizard Woman from the Dawn of Time [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1859359
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Traveling the Stars

“Oi, Jimmy-boy, lookit this!”

“What is it, Lars?”

  
  
  


“She is not waking!”

“You cannot rush this, the consequences...”

  
  
  


“Right now,” the Doctor said as he stared at the console of his TARDIS. “See, I didn’t ask to be taken anywhere. I was quite happen just floating in the Time Vortex, thank you. So why have you landed?”

  
  
  


Vastra felt as though she had just closed her eyes. Obviously whoever was trying to pry her so rudely from her rest was doing so needlessly. She must not have slept long, else she would not be this exhausted. Her body was cold, unusually cold, and voices seemed to filter through from very far away.

  
  
  


“Is Fenor awake?”

“Yes, she is checking the scanners. Something is interfering.”

  
  
  
  


The cold was slowly forced away, and memory began to slide into place as a quiet alarm pinged in her ear. The Great Hibernation. Her duty. Her sisters. She had to...had...to...

  
  
  
  


“Stone is stone and coin is coin. If the way ain’t cleared, we don’t get paid. We don’t get paid, we don’t eat. Let Charlie at it with his new stick-thingies. He claims they can break through anything...”

  
  
  


“Let’s see...March of 1860?...London...so why am I here?” The Doctor stepped outside, He was on the edge of a construction site.

  
  
  
  


“She is still not waking-!”

“None of the surface scanners are responding. We are entirely blind to what is-”

  
  
  


Vastra cracked an eye open. Lights flashed erratically in her pod, and her heart hammered relentlessly against her ribs. Had something gone wrong? Was the impact so great it reached even a full mile under the earth’s surface? She must-

  
  
  


“Charges set, Jimmy?”

“Everyone clear?”

“Yessir.”

  
  
  


“Vastra! Her eyes are open, Fenor, I’m opening the pod.”

“Wait, she’s not-”

  
  
  


A dull thump shook the disoriented reptile in her pod, and her vision swam as the tremor nearly cracked her head against the glass. A sharp hiss came as the door was forced open, Wystra’s face peering in at her.

“Vastra, we must-”

“Wystra, the lines, they-!”

The flash was white hot, searing the air from Vastra’s lungs as her eyes instinctively shut against the brilliant flare. When she finally opened them again she wished she hadn’t.

Wystra toppled over as she touched the stiff corpse, eyes already filmed over in death. The air was smoky, and stank of burned flesh. Bodies lay in various pieces around the small chamber, and the Silurian felt her stomach twist as she realized what they were. Her sisters. They were-...all of them...each and every....

_ Rage _ . 

  
  
  
  


The first explosion was probably dynamite. The second definitely wasn’t. “Aha!” the Doctor cried as he ran towards the sound. It seemed the logical thing to do.

  
  
  


“Well then,” Jimmy said as he adjusted his cap. “That stuff worked a right treat, Charlie. Well done.”

“Think we’ll need another load?” Eagerly.

“Don’t rightly know, yet.”

“Lars went to go see-”

  
  
  


Vastra did not bother even speaking to the first one. It was an ape. An ape wearing clothes and attempting to speak, but an ape nonetheless. Her hands had torn his head from his body with ease, and the spray that resulted now coated her arms.  _ They had killed her sisters and they would all pay. _

The second one did not even see her before she had gripped it by the back of the neck and broke it’s skull like an egg against a convenient piece of stonework. The third screamed, until her hand about its neck crushed his windpipe. Two others ran at her with primitive tools. It was laughably easy to dodge one and close with the other. Bone snapped under a well-aimed kick, and mercilessly she ripped out the arteries on the side of his neck. The other screamed, and she savored the taste of his fear as she tore his weapon from him and used it to cave in his chest. 

“Wait!”

Vastra paused, blood and viscera dripping from her claws as her chest heaved and her heart hammered ruthlessly in her chest. 

“Wait!” the ape cried again, hands up as he approached carefully. “You can understand me, yes? Think about that for a moment.”

“You are not an ape.” Tasting the air.

“Not exactly, no. I’m...an alien. From another planet. And you’re a Silurian.”

“How do you know that name?”

“Because I’ve met your kind before. I don’t know what happened, but this...” The carnage. “This is a mistake. Your people aren’t like this, not really.”

“They killed my sisters.” High pitched keen, and the breathing and heartbeat getting worse.

“You aren’t well. Let me help, I can...”

Vastra never heard the rest, she had already collapsed.

-090-

Warmth. That was the first thing Vastra noticed upon waking was the warmth that suffused her entire body. The second was the pale, scaleless face with it’s strange funny poof of fur on top staring down at her.

“Still cold?” the unusual creature asked, looking worried. “You went into shock. I brought you here, warmed you up. You’re safe here.”

“Wh-” Her throat was too dry. Groaning, she tried to sit up. Hands that felt unnaturally warm caught her arm and pulled her up, putting a cup in her scaled hands. Thoughts flitted like fish in a pond, too quick to catch. There were only two quick swallows, but she understood. Her body was still unstable, she would not be able to tolerate much at once. Strange how that line of reasoning seemed so clear when everything else was a fog around her. 

“Where-?” she managed this time, her chest tight as her lungs struggled to breath.

“My home and spaceship,” he replied with a wide grin, holding her up as she cleaned against one curved wall. “The TARDIS.”

Reflexively, Vastra tasted the air. Metal, but a kind of she did not know. The...person. He looked like an ape, but he was most definitely not. The smell was wrong. And he smelled...old. Very old.

The cup was refilled as she tried to process it all, and reflex made her bring it to her lips. Still, something tugged at the back of her mind. Something important. Something...”

“Who-...or what...” Breathing was becoming easier now, and he smiled as her gasping hiccups softened.

“I am the Doctor,” he told her kindly. “And I am a Timelord. We look like humans -ape, by your thinking- but I’m not. We’re-”

Apes. Apes that had run. Apes that had fought. Apes she had  _ slaughtered- _

And as she looked at her blood flecked clothes and remembered the lives she had taken, she also remembered  _ why _ . 

She was alone alone alone alone alone alone. Dead, dead, they were dead. All of them were dead. (Name all ten. Describe some of the bodies.)

Vastra did not recognize the ear-splitting wail as her own. Her mind was consumed with her loss, the all encompassing  _ loss _ of ten sisters at once. Ten lives winked out in one moment like so many broken lights. Her body strained against something that held her in place, with apparent ease. Weakly her arms scrabbled at his chest, but she could not make them do as she wished. To tear, to rend. To bathe in the blood of every single one of those  _ miserable, stinking- _

Cerulean met brown, and there the Silurian found something she had not thought possible.

“Who did you kill, that you know my rage?” she hissed weakly as the last of her strength fled. “Who did you lose, that you know my pain?”

“My greatest enemy,” the Doctor replied. “And my entire people.”

The person was too warm as he held her close, not that she could have fended him off. Still, the Silurian felt the dregs of her rage drain away to leave only the pain of emptiness in it’s place. Keen softly, she drifted again into darkness.

-090-

Warmth and blood. Vastra cracked eyes open eyes that felt raw, and saw a dish of dark red within arm’s reach. Stomach twisting with need, the female attempted to grasp the shallow bowl in trembling hands to drink. Too warm hands caught the bowl before it spattered on the floor, and helped bring it to her lips. Life flowed down her throat, rich and sweet.

“Easy,” the Doctor said as he helped her sit up slowly. “Take it easy. It’s pig's blood, so I hope you don’t mind the taste. The rest of the pig is also here, all disassembled or whatever you call it. Wasn’t sure which parts you would eat, so thought it best to bring the whole thing...”

“Liver and kidneys,” the Silurian mumbled as she licked the bowl clean much to her private disgust. 

“Cooked?” Hopeful.

“Raw.”

“Right.”

“And more blood.”

It was food for hatchlings, Vastra thought with disgust as she was handed the organs and her bowl was refilled from a pitcher. But her limbs were beyond weak, and her stomach gurgled unpleasantly as she tore into the food. It was rich and heavy, and would help her body heal. Her chest still felt tight, but her heart had settled into its natural rhythm. There was something else, something on the edge of her thoughts that she shied away from. Eat, she told herself as she walled that part of her mind away. Gain strength. You are like a hatchling mewling in it’s nest, and good for nothing.

The Doctor sat nearby as she ate, watching with his sad and all too understanding eyes. Hastily the Silurian looked away. Those eyes were too knowing, too likely to pry open the darkness that had been sealed away. The liver and kidneys were followed by the heart, brains, and some of the skin. Two more bowls of blood to wash it down left the reptile with an obviously distended stomach and heavy eyes. 

“Do you have water I can wash in?” It is brought to her. “My thanks.” She cleans her hands and face.

“How long should you sleep this time?”

“Another day, perhaps two.”

“Rest, then. I’ll still be here when you wake.”

There was no reply.

-090-

Vastra woke, feeling almost herself if still a bit weak in her limbs. A note sat beside her, and she blinked as she read it.

The bathroom is to the right, and the rest of the pig in a cold room beside it. The clothes beside you I believe are yours. When you are ready, I am outside the double doors.

It was unsigned, but she somehow knew instinctively that it was him, her host. The words did not entirely make sense, and yet suddenly did. The ‘bathroom’, a place she might relieve and clean herself. That was her first priority, and the meat would be her second. Unsteadily she rose, legs trembling beneath her as she held to the walls and rails of the ship. The bathroom was vastly different than what she was used to, but again the knowledge of what to do and how to use the appliances came to her. The outer garments were removed, though she kept the silver, ribbed bodysuit on. It was undamaged, and the blood and dirt wiped off it easily. The uniform was hers, complete with her insignia and rank though lacking the armor and weapons that usually went with it. 

Clean and comfortable, the reptile stared at herself in the mirror above the sink. She did not know where those words came from, they were simply there in her mind. Odd.

The face that stared back at her was familiar and alien all at once. Eyes, nose scales, it was hers. What was it she did not recognize in herself? What was it-?

Her stomach’s growl interrupted wherever that thought might have led, and her feet took her to the promised meal. Meat, as promised, and blood. Both were cold, but again knowledge came without her understanding how or why. She turned knobs and pressed dials, and at the end had both nearly as warm as it would be fresh off the carcass. 

“It was strange, she mused as she ate enough to satisfy but not to put herself back in a stupor. She was warm and full and clean. She was herself and yet not.

Outside the double doors, the Doctor had said, so Vastra followed.

It was their chamber. The bodies were gone, and the air cleared of smoke, but it was still theirs. Damaged hibernation pods sat in a neat row around the outside. Supply caches around them were cracked like nuts, their contents spilling to the floor. Consoles and mind bridges sat dark, their surfaces discolored and warped from the heat of the blast. 

Numbly, the Commander walked to Wystra’s pod and leaned her forehead against the spiderwebbed glass. The first face she had seen upon waking, now gone. The emptiness in her mind rose to the surface, and a soft keen escaped her lips as she started at the empty husk. Gone, gone, gone. They were all gone, her sisters,  _ gone _ -

Rage flooded her veins, and she shook with the strength of it as she fell to her knees. She would kill them, kill them all, eradicate the vermin that had infested her planet and-

“Why,” she heard herself whisper in a half-choked gasp, “am I so angry?”

“I have a theory.”

Vastra whirled at the voice, hands raised to attack.

“Easy,” the Doctor said as he stood, arms up in surrender just a few paces away. “It’s just little old me. Not armed and most definitely not an ape.” The reptile dropped her hands, and he did the same. “I think one of your companions tried to force you from your pod too soon, in desperation.”

She sat as he spoke, leaning against the damaged pod as she tried to absorb the story that exploded from him. He had accessed the mind bridge to the archives to confirm his suspicions. Like all the rest, her city had gone into hibernation expecting an ecological disaster on a global scale. It had never come. Their equipment monitoring the surface was meant to last through the apocalypse, but could not defeat time itself. Over the centuries, that exposed to the surface had been set to handle, and so nothing was triggered.

Her people had assumed it would be 300-500 years, a thousand tops before they woke again. It had been millions upon millions. 

The men, he went on, the ‘apes’ as she called them, were the reason the alarms had finally gone off. The same shiftings in the crust that had disconnected their lines had also brought them closer to the surface. Close enough that when the apes dug out a large portion of the ground to complete their transportation project they uncovered the chamber.

To be honest, he was surprised the chamber still stood. The polymer it was made of was impressive, but it hadn’t been built for millions of years of punishment. He was frankly gobsmacked it hadn’t collapsed and killed them all ages ago. He showed her the hairline fractures, the place the primitive explosives had been put.

Her sisters, he explained, had woken nearly a full day before her. By what he had dredged from the consoles, they had begun attempting to access their scanners and discover what had tripped the alarms. Panic had not set in until they realized someone was practically knowing on their door.

“You, of course, want to know why you didn’t awaken with the rest,” the Doctor said as he sat next to her on the floors. “It’s your lungs. You took an injury to them when you were younger, saving a juvenile of your kind. Your people did not know that hibernation can make those little flaws worse, over time. Thousands of years to millions did not figure into their equations.”

“Will it kill me?”

“I don’t think so, no. I’m still a bit dodgy on Silurian biology, but I think given time and rest you will recover most if not all of your capacity. However...” Rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “I can’t put you back in one. The main chamber below is fine from what I can see., and the lift still appears to operate, miraculously enough. I didn’t go down in case there were security measures in place. No need to wake everyone else just yet.”

“Then why couldn’t I sleep again? Wake with the rest of my people when it is time?”

“Your lungs. In a few weeks, you’ll feel almost normal, but you won’t be. It will be years, cycles by your way of thinking, before it would be safe. And even then, a second shock to your system if you were pulled out too fast would probably kill you. I won’t put you to sleep knowing I am sentencing you to death when you awaken again.”

“You don’t think I deserve it? You think the apes deserved to die for what they did?”

“They did not. It was...an accident. A mistake. They did not know what they were doing, no more than you sister did when she forced your pod open too soon. She damaged more than your lungs, she damaged your mind. Anger is natural, but your rage is not. It is the pain of a wound to your mind, and when it heals I think you will regret this.” To himself. “Anger is always the shortest distance to a mistake.”

Silence fell, and with it sorrow rose again. A blade in the back would not hurt less, she thought as her mind scrabbled at the torn edges of her connections. Gone, all gone. She was alone alone alone alone...

Rage rose again, but she rode it this time as she might a wild beast. Savage, raw power could not be contained or truly controlled, but it could be waited out. Her muscles trembled with it, her jaw clenching to the point of knotting up. Eventually it ebbed and she sat, breathing heavily as it took with it her strength.

“Does it ever stop, Timelord? The pain?”

“Yes and no. It will change, to like a scar. It will never fully heal to what it was before, but it won’t ache this fiercely. It might be tender, and sometimes it will be numb. Eventually, you will go days and years without giving it thought. It just takes...time.”

“How long have I slept? And where...where are my sisters?”

“You were asleep a week.” She’s confused. “Seven days, it is how the humans tell time.”

“The apes again. You are fond of them?”

“Yes, I suppose I am.”

“My sisters?”

“Laid to rest classic Silurian style. Took the bodies to a field and burned them to ash. You slept through it, so I stood vigil for you. Two days and nights, correct?”

“Why would you do that for people you do not even know?”

“It seemed the right thing to do. I saved what I could of their things, as the bodies are usually burned wrapped only in cloth. That’s what the archive said, anyways.”

“I will need to mourn them, but not yet.”

“Something more important to do?”

“I will need to report this disaster, check on my people below, and figure out how to secure this chamber against future incursions. They must still be relatively primitive if they do not scan the ground before digging. This cannot fall into unprepared hands.”

“Oh, well, I can help with that. The chamber has been resealed, used a thingy from the TARDIS, and slapped a perception filter on it that runs off the power supply in this chamber against future incursions. Accidental or otherwise, it should do the trick. The map of the area has been altered in the city offices to make the spot unusable, and the Underground oversight committee has already made plans to go around it. Which, actually, protects this space as it will lie directly between two passing lines.”

“The dead apes?”

“An accident with dynamite. The families have been notified, and appropriately compensated.”

Disgusted snort. “You are certain it will be safe?”

“I popped ahead around 100 years, and it was still untouched.”

“Popped ahead...?”

“TARDIS. Time And Relative Dimension In Space. What, the title Timelord didn’t tip you off?”

“I considered it might be mere pretension.”

“Not this time. I’m a time traveler. In that.” Points to the TARDIS.

It’s the first time Vastra notices the blue box. Blinks slowly. Gets up shakily, and circles it onces. “Leonard’s theory of relative dimensions?”

“No, it’s...what, you’re not impressed?”

“Because it’s size and volume are different?” Considers. “No. No, I find the intelligence behind its structure much more fascinating.” 

“What do you mean?” Laughing nervously.

“It is alive.”

“No, it isn’t.”

Vastra meets his gaze, then shrugs. “Very well.”

“Why can’t you just say ‘it’s bigger on the inside’? I like that bit.”

“You are an odd creature, Doctor.” Knees buckle, grabs onto the TARDIS. 

“And you are still recovering. Let’s go eat again, and you can lay down some more. Tomorrow will be soon enough to start.”

“You are the Doctor.” For some reason, she knows what the term means again. She glances at the TARDIS and pats it. 

“I suppose I am.”

She is shivering by the time they are inside. He warms more blood and meat for her, and she eats almost in a stupor. By the time she is done, he pulls her standing and has to help her down the hall to bed. The mattress feels strange beneath her, and instinctively she reaches out to  _ hum. _ And it is empty. She didn’t think she made a sound, but suddenly the mattress sagged with added weight, the unnatural warmth pressed into her back. He said nothing, the strange doctor, but he lay next to her in the lonely dark until she finally fell asleep.

-090-

The next day was one of a pain so great she could feel nothing else. Barely aware of her actions, she rose and cleaned herself again. More meat and blood was consumed, though she could feel her strength returning. The Doctor followed when she left the TARDIS, a silent shadow that stayed with her through the day. Vastra thoroughly searched the room first. That which was useful was separated from that which was junk. She was not yet certain where she would go from here, and training took over as her body operated without thought. The consoles were checked, and then slowly dismantled. She would leave the pieces in the chamber below, if the lift still worked. It would be safe there.

The Doctor helped as she loaded pieces of machinery onto the platform and hopped on when she activated it to descend. Vastra said nothing, though he looked as gleeful as a hatchling with a treat.

The chamber below was pristine. The soft hum of electronics permeated the unnatural quiet.

“See?” the Doctor said, triumphant. “Untouched, like I said.”

Vastra did not reply. Mechanically she unloaded the electronics, piling them carefully to one side. The Doctor followed when she walked down the main passage, checking consoles as she went. Readings came back quickly, and the computational integrity of the archive had not been compromised. Air quality, power availability, stability of the structure. Her shadow watched, impressed, and waited.

The main terminal was her goal, the heart of the archive network. There she stepped onto a platform, pulled down a headpiece and pressed her forehead to it firmly. Screens sprang to life around her, and the Doctor whistled as he stepped up beside her to watch.

“That’s a mid-level psychic link, he said as he did a full circle. “Your archive makes more sense now.”

“It makes for a more direct report,” Vastra replied as she closed her eyes. “And one without pretense. The bare facts are taken from your mind, for anyone to access later on.”

“Fascinating.”

“I am including you in my report, Doctor. Is there anything in particular you wish me to convey on your behalf?”

“Oh, that I was happy to help.” Grinning. “Also, that I advise against resurfacing at this time. Mankind is not ready for an introduction to Silurian society just yet.”

“Noted.” Dryly.

“Also, I want you to come with me.”

“What?” Eyes pop open, and she breaks off the connection momentarily.

“What was your purpose here, Vastra? In the chamber above?”

“To protect my people. To help find the right time for them to wake in and guard our secret until then.”

“The entrance is hidden, and the chamber is not a fit place to be alone. You can learn nothing here, but you can if you come with me. You will see the universe, and when your people wake they will have the benefit of all you have seen and done.”

“How? Can you guarantee my return?”

“No. But I can give you the ability to link the archive, wherever you go.”

“Why?”

“Because, it isn’t good to be alone in your grief.” Pauses. “And because I’m curious. Silurians, the original earth species. There is so much I don’t know about you, which is odd because I know almost everything about humans.”

Snort of disgust.

“No, really, think about it. The apes of your time have evolved into a race that may not have your technology but an impressive all the same. You could wake your people now, attempt to kill them all. Assuming I couldn’t stop you, it would not be as easy as you think. Oh, you would kill them by the hundreds at first. The thousands. But humans are smart and stubborn, they can learn and adapt. Come out guns blazing, and the whole of the planet will join forces to crush you. You might still win, but the cost would be high. But the biggest reason you should come with me is  _ your people aren’t like that. _ ”

“Violence is the last resort only, it is built into the very structure and creed of your beliefs. Which means you need to learn about humans before you can attempt to live among them peacefully, which means you need me.”

“And if we can never life with them peacefully?” Challenging.

“Then I will help you find a new home. All of you. There are a million billion planets in this universe, Vastra, and I am a Timelord. If we agree without a shred of doubt that cohabitation cannot be achieved, I will move every single Silurian on the planet somewhere safe. Agreed?”

“Agreed.”

“So you’re coming, then?”

“I am.”

“Brilliant!”

“Now leave me alone so I can finish.”

“Right you are!”

He capers off, and has the archive link and transponder finished when she returns. “See? Told you I could.”

“So you did.”

“Does anything impress you?”

“Bravery. Kindness.” Meaningful pause. “Honesty.” Shaking her head slightly. “Why were you here, Doctor? If you really can travel through time and space however you like, why here and now?”

“The honest answer is: I don’t know. I was on the TARDIS and she landed, clever sexy beast that she is, just outside the construction site.”

“And you had nothing to do with it?”

“She’s a funny old thing, my TARDIS. She doesn’t always land where I want her to, but she always gets me where I need to go.” Shrugging.

“Then I should go thank her.”

“I think she’d like that.”

And he didn’t think the TARDIS was alive. Silly Timelord.

-090-

Her pack was small. A spare silver suit and uniform. The archive access and control for the upper chamber defenses. Momentos from each of her sisters belongings, and a sword. The Doctor had glanced askance at the weapon until she hissed, “Would you prefer I carry a gun?”

“No,” he replied quickly. “Swords are fine. Swords are great, as a matter of fact. Lost my hand to one, actually.” Vastra eyes his hands doubtfully. “It grew back. It’s a Timelord thing.”

“This is all I have,” she said as she’d picked up the small crate and carried it towards the TARDIS. “Are you sure it will be enough?”

“It will be plenty,” he assured her as he opened the door with his key. “TARDIS provides for us, mostly. Got a whole wing of clothes, larders galore, a library. Give it a day or two, and she’ll be anticipating your needs too.”

“A useful ship.”

“A very useful ship.”

“I don’t understand why it looks like a ridiculous blue box, though.”

“But it’s a police box, it’s a classic! It’s- oh, right. You don’t know what that is.” Considering. “Lesson one: it’s a police box. It’s a human thing, and it is definitely cool.”

“If you say so.”

“I do say so. Well, where would you like to go first?”

“As if I would know. You said you have things I should learn. Take me there.”

“Your wish is my command.”

Traveling with the Timelord, Vastra soon realized, simply could not be imagined. There were no long jaunts across the black depths of space. One was one place, and then one was another. The Doctor did take her to the moon, to see the object that had caused her people’s descent underground. There were periods of rest between adventures, hanging suspended in the Time Vortex, but mostly their adventures involved a great deal of running. 

“Doctor, is this always how it is, or are you simply trying to measure my rate of healing by how quickly you can run me to death?”

“Nope, pretty much always this way. Alonse!”

Interspersed with loads of miscommunication and escalating danger.

“Vastra, what did I tell you about your sword?!”

“It was threatening me!”

“He was trying to hug you!”

“It was an ape, that is practically the same thing!”

And grief, well, that was a funny thing too. Vastra would be in the middle of a thought, or see something in the distance, and it would hit her again. That knife in the ribs, leaving her breathless and shaking. And with it, often, would come the rage.

“Don’t do it, Vastra! Don’t! You know it’s not right! Fight it, my girl, you can do this!”

With time, the reptile realized that without the Doctor’s determination and bravery, she would have lost the battle long ago. And when the rage left and she collapsed into a boneless, keening heap he was there. Sitting on her bed in the dark, back pressed against hers. Pulling her into an alley on an alien world and waiting patiently while she mastered herself. And sometimes, he gave her tea.

“Have a cuppa, nothing better for a rough day.”

“It looks like swamp water.” Doubtful. 

“Yes, but it tastes delicious. Go on, try it. You’ll see.”

Cautious sip. “It is...palatable.” Second sip. “There is something...comforting? What is this, Doctor?”

“It is tea, one of the greatest things humans ever discovered, with a touch of milk and sugar.”

“It must be quite difficult to make.”

“Not at all. Anyone could do it. Even a child.”

The Doctor was not often wrong, but when he was...

“I stand corrected,” the Doctor said as he dumped his cup back into the pot. “Vastra,  _ how _ did you take the same tea leaves I did and come up with brown water that looks, smells and tastes like swamp water?”

“I followed the directions you gave me!”

“You did not! Those directions are foolproof, and by a Timelord Teamaster no less!”

“You came up with those directions.”

“How do you know I’m not a Master of Tea? Certainly make a better cup than you, eh?”

“You are being ridiculous.”

“Promise me you won’t ever make tea again, Vastra. This is a travesty, a crime against all tea-lovers everywhere.” Tosses the pot and all out the doors of the TARDIS into space. 

“You cannot be serious.”

“I am. Promise.”

“Very well! I promise.” Rolling her eyes, and stalking away.

Vastra spent a great deal of time in the library. Given the universal translator, she had been quick to realize the wealth and information and knowledge there. Everything she read was transferred into the Archive, much of which she only partially understood. The memory was there, though, and hopefully one day one of her people would make use of it. She was digging through a corner shelf when she found a folder full of loose sheets of paper. Opening it, she found images, but none like she had ever seen before. 

Drawings. The words came to her mind as often happened on the TARDIS, and with it an understanding she did not quite grasp. Why would they use sticks or inks to mark images on paper? There were more effective ways to capture an image, and once uploaded to the Archive one could access it at any time. Still, something about the black and white ‘sketches’ drew her mind, and she took them to the Control room where the Doctor fixed something underneath. 

“Doctor,” she said as she nudged him with one foot. “What is this? Explain it to me.”

“A drawing,” he said, sticking his head out briefly to glance at the papers she held. “An image on paper drawn in graphite or ink. What about it?”

“I do not understand.”

“What’s not to understand? This isn’t rocket science, that was last week.”

“Doctor, my people do not do this! We do not...write. Inscribe things on paper like this. We have simply preserved thoughts and memories since the creation of the Archive. It is an inferior method, and yet I cannot stop looking at it. It draws my eyes to follow these simple lines. Why?”

“Because it is art.” Standing slowly to meet her eyes. “It’s a thing of beauty and creativity.”

“Who’s planet is this from?”

“Earth, Vastra. The apes you so love to despise made the very thing you can’t look away from.”

“I must know more.”

“There are books in the library.” She is already leaving. “And pencils and paper if you fancy giving it a try!” Under his breath. “Which, of course, she will. At least it can’t go any worse than the tea...”

The Doctor finished some hours later and decided he had better discover what his companion was up to. He needed little sleep, and it wasn’t uncommon for him to get so involved with this projector or that that they ate and slept a few times without him while he worked. 

The library, his first guess, was empty, as was the galley, as he liked to call it. Which, he thought, must mean her room. 

The chamber was relatively small and spartan, though he had told the Silurian that the TARDIS was capable of handling almost any size she chose. Simple was best, she had insisted, and settled for a self-heating pallet on the floor, a set of drawers for her meager possessions, a wall hanger for her sword and a large desk typically covered in whatever interesting thing she had found now. Currently, it was covered in sheets of paper. 

“Oh, you big, beautiful lizard lady from the dawn of time,” he said as he picked up one from the edge. “What have you done now?”

The face inscribed on the sheet in charcoal was Silurian, male he thought by the wider jaw and thick neck. A jokester, he thought, from the twinkle in his eye and faint smile on his lips. The rest were faces as well, each rendered in fantastic detail. But more than a discovery of a fantastic talent, it was  _ hope _ .

‘Proof’, he thought to himself as he examined paper and paper, that the reptile and the ape  _ can _ find common ground. Of course, art galleries! That would be their next set of adventures, then, viewing the art of the apes. There was just one small problem, but-

“Doctor?”

“Vastra,” he said as she woke from the desk. “These are-”

“Rubbish, I know,” she cut in darkly. “I just cannot seem to get the shadows right...”

“Hang on a minute, these aren’t rubbish,” the thin man protested quickly. “Vastra, there are people who strive for years who can’t attain this level of ability. It’s nothing short of fantastic that you did simply by picking up a charcoal stick.”

“But it’s not  _ right _ ,” she hissed, snatching the sheaf from his hands and tearing it in half savagely. “I am missing something, something I cannot see.”

“Well, then I’m glad our next adventure should solve some of that. We’re going to see the best art humans have to offer! There’s just one catch.”

“What?”

“You’re going to need to look like an ape.”

-090-

“It makes my  _ scales itch _ .”

“Do you want to see the art or not?”

“Very well.” Crossing her arms. “We may proceed.”

“Not with your sword we can’t.”

Adjusts the perception filter and it disappears. “There.”

“Hey, how did you do that?” Shaking his head. “You won’t need it, Vastra. We’re just going to look at pictures on a wall.”

“Doctor, if there is one thing I have learned from traveling with you it is never assume anything is safe.”

-090-

“Alright, you can say it,” the Doctor said as he wiped sweat from his face. “But really, how was I supposed to Mary Cassatt had been a Verconium princess in disguise, and her paintings held the key to destroying the universe or that her ancestors would choose today to come and steal them away?”

“And?” Pointed.

“And yes, your sword was useful.” Rolling his eyes. 

“Hm.” Smug.

“Well, at least we’re getting an after-hours private tour for helping, eh? They said it was the least they could do to repay us.”

The promised tour was everything she wished and more. Describe later.

-090-

The Doctor watched with patient pleasure as the Silurian soldier sat herself in the purple grasses of Xandar, an easel set up in front of her and paints spread on her pallet. 

“You are certain you won’t get bored, Doctor?”

“Watching you explore the world of color and expressionism?” her companion replied blithely. “Nah. You’re good Vastra. You’re no Van Gogh or Da Vinci. Dali and Rembrandt could still teach you a thing or two. But you are still quite good.”

“Have you met any of them, Doctor?”

“Yeah, gave Da Vinci a ride in the TARDIS once actually. Nice fellow, probably still got a few of his sketches somewhere. Rembrandt too, I think I have one of his works knocking about.”

“And that is something I do not understand.”

“What?”

“You have the ability to meet the greatest of each race,” she said simply. “You know their names, their history. You could choose to spend your years only with those of import. And yet you do not. Why?”

“Vastra, I’m around 900 years old,” the Doctor replied seriously. “In all that time, I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t important.”

“And so you choose your companions based on...?”

“Chance. And need. And running.”

“Running?”

“Yeah, a companion that couldn’t run wouldn’t work. Seems to always be a big part of the whole thing.” Pulls the archive orb out of his pocket. 

“Still cannot access it?”

“With the computer, yes. With this, no.” Tapping his skull. “The screens tell me things, but it isn’t the same.”

“It is simple, a hatchling could do it.”

“Well, apparently not.”

“I gave you instructions, you must not have followed them correctly.”

“Your instructions were rubbish.”

“They were from an ‘Archive Master’.”

“Ha, yes, I see what you did there.”

-090-

Six months, by the human way of reckoning time, and the Doctor was getting worried. Something wasn’t right with his companion, and he could not put his finger on what. She was thin, too thin he thought, and her scales were losing their brilliant green shine. She seemed driven by a force, one that often kept her awake for far too long without rest and pushed her relentlessly to devour anything that may be of use to her people. He was used to companions having an urge to see everything at once, but it usually petered out in a few weeks or months. The Silurian had not, and showed no signs of stopping.

“Vastra?” the Timelord asked as he found her picking at some unidentifiable flesh in the galley. 

“Hm?” Reading a book.

“Vastra, how old are you?”

“Why?” Glancing up.

“According to the archive, your species lives to be between 200 and 250 cycles old. I am curious how far along that you are.”

“I am around 60.” She shrugs. “Keeping a precise count never seemed important.”

“That you can agree with. However, if you have, oh, say, 200 give or take years left to look forward to...why are you sprinting ahead like the finish line is in sight? Or like you’re running from something, something I can’t see.”

“That is because I do not have 200 years give or take, Doctor. I do not have even ten.”

“Why not? You’re a healthy, young, strong Silurian soldier.”

“You have never asked about my sisters who died.”

“You never asked about the names.” Pointing upwards. “I know you found the Old High Gallifreyan grammar book and translated them.”

“I know you have accessed all the records of those found with me in the upper chamber.”

“It seems we both like our secrets, then.” Shrugging. “I thought when you were ready it would come up.”

“As did I.” Pointedly looking upwards.

“They are the names of some of my past companions. Those nearest and dearest to my heart.”

“Silurians are born into a special bond with their clutch. Without it, in time, we go mad.”

“How long?”

“No more than seven or eight cycles. Years.” Shrugging herself, which she picked up from him. “Perhaps only 1 or 2.”

“And you weren’t going to tell me?”

“What is there to tell? It is a thing that will happen that will not change.”

“Then we’ll pop to the future and find you a new clutch.”

“It is not that simple!” Angry now. “The bonding happens at hatching in a very specific series of circumstances.”

“Vastra, your sisters were not of your birth clutch. Some of them were old enough to your grandmother.”

“We were an exception.” Pained sigh. “There was speculation that if we awoke in a time where we were required to remain but could not wake the others...the madness is irreversible, Doctor.” Throwing up her hands. “They broke our bonds, and simulated a hatching. It was sufficient, and we were able to create a new clutch bond.”

“So in order for you to reform that bond...”

“I would need someone unbonded themselves, and willing to make that connection. There are stories of friends creating such bonds if both have lost their entire clutch, but it is not common. And in each case, they were friends for decades before taking that step.”

“You don’t have decades.”

“So I have been trying to tell you.” More gently. “It is not so bad, Doctor. I have seen much and learned more. I am fulfilling my duty in a greater capacity than I ever thought possible. And when I go mad...leave me somewhere alone, where I am a danger to no one but myself.”

“I don’t accept that.” Turning to the TARDIS, flipping switches. “There is always hope.”

“Doctor?”

“You aren’t the only species that utilizes a psychic field in your family bonds.” TARDIS begins to rock. “And some of them owe me a few favors.”

-090-

“You are MAD, Doctor. I am  _ freezing _ .”

“It’s just a bit nippy, Vastra, stop complaining. Besides, we’ll only be out here a moment, and I did offer you a coat.”

“I looked ridiculous in it, and it didn’t fit my crest.”

“Your loss.”

“My people are cold-blooded, Doctor, this had better have a purpose...”

“It does, it does. And-” Rounding a bend. “Ta da!” Planet of the Ood reveal.

“Pretty, but useless. And I am still  _ freezing. _ ”

“You’re a right spoil sport today. Grumpy lizard.”

“Yes, I am, because I am  _ cold _ .”

“Right, over here.”

-090-

The Ood. Vastra was still not sure what she thought of them. From their appearance, they could not be further from a Silurian. But their minds...

The singing that permeated the underground cavern was so like that of her kin that it was almost like coming home. The Elder greeted them, touching their minds in a way both familiar and alien. Vastra bowed her head as she responded, ignoring the Doctor’s prattling as she basked in the feel of even so tenuous a link. 

A hand on her arm guided her to a chair, and she sat as the Doctor squatted beside her in concern. “Vastra?”

“Doctor,” she replied in a hoarse whisper. “It is so beautiful, Doctor.”

“What is?”

“The singing.”

“We have taken away her pain,” someone else said. “She is likely a bit euphoric at its dispersal.”

“You can do that?”

“Only for a short time. It will make our examination easier, and allow her mind some rest.”

“Thank you.”

“It is our pleasure, Doctor.”

The song rose, and consumed all else.

-090-

“So?” the Doctor asked as he watched them tend his unconscious companion. “Can you help?”

“Perhaps,” the Elder said with a tilt of his head. “There is not one injury to her mind, but three. The first breaking of clutch bonds, and the shock of being awakened too soon. Then finally, the second breaking of clutch bonds.”

“The first one has not healed?”

“It was not given time. To be blunt, Doctor, it is a miracle she is not already mad. It makes us weep just to bear the burden of her pain this short time. She shows great mental fortitude, but she is losing this battle.”

“What does she need.”

“The bonds they form are a strength and a weakness. If the bonds were not formed at hatching, they would likely survive without it. It would also limit their psychic links throughout their life.”

“You are saying she cannot heal without it.” Nods. “How long?”

“Impossible to say. The longer contact can be kept at the deepest levels, the shorter the time. Years, at the very least, I believe.”

“Well then, I suppose there’s just one final question: how do you think she’d feel about a brother?”

-090-

Vastra woke in her bed, warm and drowsy and wondering if the hideous planet of ice had been a dream. The singing, though, she would miss the-

“Wakey-wakey, my scaley sister!”

“Doctor?” she said, head popping up out of her cocoon as she felt him move beside her. “What are you-?” She felt it as soon as their eyes met, the path from his mind to hers.

“Pretty cool, right?” he said as he gave her a wide smile. “You have a brother!”

“You...you... _ you idiot!! _ ”

The Doctor’s shock at her anger reverberated back through her mind, and she groaned and clutched her head as it rang like a bell.

“Quiet your mind!” she hissed as she glared at him. “You do not need to shout things at me-!”

“Sorry-! Sorry.” Pausing. “Better?”

“Somewhat, yes.” Grumbling to herself. “You are like a child-!”

“I thought you’d be happy!” Folding his arms. “I know I would be if someone saved me from madness.”

“Obviously, no one did!” More muted. “Doctor...this isn’t...right.”

“This isn’t forever.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your mind has...wounds in it. The Ood believe once you have healed we can be safely separated again.”

“But then it will be as it is now.”

“No, it won’t. The bond isn’t the same, and when it is removed it won’t be severed. It won’t leave behind another wound. They can...make it right.”

“Then I will be alone.”

“Independent, not alone. They are two different things.”

“Your thoughts are still very loud. You...you are male?”

“Well of course I’m male! Can’t you tell?”

“Apes all look the same, and your affectations with your clothes suggested a rather feminine cast-”

“I am not an ape!”

Pause. “Yes you are! Or you are descended from one. What else have you lied to me about?” Gasp. “ _ Really _ ?”

“Oh dear.”

“And that-! Oh, you-! I am never speaking to you again!”

“I didn’t mean it!”

“Also a lie!”

“How...how do I...?”

“We will need to start at the beginning, you have no control and your mind is a mess-” Gives him a significant look. “What was that?”

“A human...ritual. Ignore that.”

“I cannot, you are still thinking about it.”

“Oh, this is impossible. Not thinking about it means I am thinking about it and that in turn-”

“Lay down,” Vastra said, pushing him over onto her heated pad. 

“Why? Oh. Well, this is useful.”

“Yes, but it will change once you learn some control. Honestly, for someone more than ten times my age, you can be such a child.” Still muttering to herself, she linked arms with his, pressed their foreheads together, and  _ hummed _ . 

-090-

Vastra was not certain how much time had passed when she opened her eyes again. Her stomach growled in no uncertain terms and her mouth was dry. At least a day, then. The Doctor stirred beside her, letting go of her hands to rub at his face. The reptile snorted quietly herself, but rolled on her back and stared at the ceiling. The wounds were still there, she could feel them like ragged holes in a piece of cloth. But the emptiness that had been gnawing at her was gone, and in its place a link unlike any she had shared before. 

“Your name is not ‘the Doctor’,” she said into the near-dark.

“Another thing you did not realize before?”

“No.”

“Please never speak of it.”

“I will not.”

“And this is your only family bond through life? No parents, no grandparents or aunts or uncles...and yet it’s so powerful. It is acceptance without question. No wonder your face gives away so little, among your people they do not need to. They just  _ know. _ ”

“It feels alien to think of my life as anything else.”

“You were right to be angry with me. I didn’t understand.” Pause. “And you’ve already forgiven me.”

“It is the nature of the bond. Bad feelings between siblings festers worse than a rancid wound. It can infest the entire clutch. We are taught to let our grievances go quickly and easily early in life.”

“Amazing.” Sitting up quickly. “Well, I am hungry. Let’s go eat!”

-090-

Weeks passed in the Time Vortex, and for once the Doctor didn’t seem to mind their lack of falling into trouble and running away from it again. Vastra had been able, using their link, to teach him to access the archive with his mind. An entire species collected database at his fingertips, the Doctor had quickly lost himself delving through centuries of accumulated history and knowledge. 

“Eugenics,” he said suddenly, sitting up from where he had by lying on her bed. “I have run across this before. Your people believe in a pure race.”

She blinks slowly. “You are referring to the unpleasantness with the Sea Devils.”

“Yes, that and the eggs your people apparently smashed.”

“I have heard the stories, yes.”

“So...why?”

“I can only tell you what we were taught, Doctor, and that is all in the archive. I was not a philosopher or a teacher.”

“So you would have obeyed if asked to slaughter unhatched eggs and their parents.”

“Before? Yes, I probably would have. It is what I was taught and I knew no other way. If we are going to discuss the crimes of a civilization will we be discussing the Time War and the atrocities there in? Or your precious apes and their many faults?”

“And now?”

“And now what?”

“Would you kill those eggs now?”

“I do not know. That is my honest answer. There is no perfect civilization, none are without blame. I have seen, with you, that cohabitation with other races is possible. I have also seen races and species wiped out for little more than ‘they are not us’ in the histories you have. At least among my people there are some actual reasons for that. Hatchlings from a Sea Devil and Silurian union are typically weak and deformed. They rarely reach adulthood, and require constant care. One could argue the rules were set in place to stop the suffering of innocents.”

“One could,” the Doctor agreed as he stood, stepping away from her. “I’m sorry. You are not to blame.”

“Neither are you.”

“Unfortunately, that is not true.” Rubbing his face again. “Are you ready to travel again? A museum, how about it?”

-090-

The planet Wiffledorn was known for many things, but one of the greatest was its Museum of the Universe. Vastra stood with the Doctor on the steps, her scales open for all to see and no one paying them a whit of attention.

“Yes, yes, you did tell me so,” Vastra said as she strode up the steps behind him, able to feel his smug grin through the bond. “Is this truly the greatest museum, ever?”

“Well, that’s debatable,” Flashing his special papers to get them inside. “One of the greatest, certainly. And the largest. It’s impossible to see it all in one day, and there are entrances and exits every half mile or so along the front.”

“Every half mile? How large is it?”

“Hard to say, they keep finding more things and adding more wings...hello there.” Stopping at a sign for a guest speaker.

“Do you know her, Doctor?” Vastra studies the face. “Doctor Song?”

“No,” he replied quietly. “But maybe also yes. I’m not sure yet. Fancy a lecture?”

The hall was relatively crowded, with several occupants holographed in from their planets. The lecture was on a find on a planet Vastra had never heard of, let alone the culture that existed there half a million years ago that supposedly revered a sort of rodent. Vastra studies the woman on stage. Realizes the Doctor is laughing to himself.

“Doctor?”

“Oh, what a load of tosh,” he murmured, shaking his head. “Front to end they’ve got wrong.” Looking at the woman. “She might even know that, too.”

“Doctor?” Afterwards.

“Well, at least it was good for the laughs.”

“I don’t understand what was amusing.”

“I made it up, sweetie.” They both turn to find her behind them. “To hide the trail of a meddling Timelord who poked his nose where it didn’t belong.”

“I was barely 200 then, practically a child.”

“You still altered the course of an entire species by pretending you could speak to their rodent queen.”

“I could speak to her, and she hated her crown. I was just trying to help. We, however, need to be going.”

“You aren’t even going to introduce me, Doctor?” River.

“Vastra, this is Doctor River Song, an archeologist. Dr. Song, this is Vastra. She’s traveling with me right now.”

“Oh, so formal. Early days, then.”

“Very early, yes.” Looking uncomfortable.

“A pleasure, M-...Vastra.” Holds out her hand. Vastra stares at it.

“Very early days indeed,” to herself. “Well, my part is done for today. What about you, Doctor?”

“We were going to explore the museum, if you still want to Vastra?”

“I suppose.”

“I’ll tag along, then, shall I?”

The Doctor quickly moves ahead. River points out things of interest to Vastra as they walk. 

“I do not understand something,” Vastra interrupted River mid-sentence. “You are both familiar and wary of me. I can smell it on you. Why?”

“Blunt as always.” Again to herself. “I am a time-traveler, Vastra. Like the Doctor. Which means I don’t always meet people in the right order.”

Vastra considered this. “Ah, crossing timelines. I understand now. You have already met me, then. I future me.”

Reluctantly. “Yes, and-”

“Say no more. The possibility of paradoxi had been explained to me.”

“Ah, so you are linked then.” Relieved. Sees Vastra’s glance. “It simply makes it easier to explain.”

“I imagine it does.” Pauses. “Why is the Doctor uneasy in your presence?”

“The same reason I was uneasy in yours. We meet in the wrong order. In his timeline, it is still early days. In mine...” She shrugs enigmatically. 

“That must be difficult.”

“There are worse fates.” Looking around. “Speaking of which, where is the Doctor?”

“Likely into trouble, as he always is.”

-090-

Vastra had been right. A few fires, two destroyed exhibits and a soaked trio from the water suppression system later, Vastra decided the mysterious archaeologist was a very useful person to have around.

“Oh,” the Doctor groaned as they walked into the TARDIS, wringing out his coat. “You like her, don’t you?”

“She is clever, and a fast runner despite her ridiculous footwear,” the Silurian replied calmly as she stripped her own uniform off. The silver undersuit remained in place, it had repelled the water and kept her warm. “Also, not an ape. Or at least-”

“Stop, stop right there!” Whirling on her. “Never tell me  _ anything _ about her unless you know  _ for a fact _ that I know it already. Too much foreknowledge is dangerous, and could rip the universe in half. You’re the one with 60 years of experience with this, so wall it away where I will never find it and  _ leave it alone _ .”

“You are afraid. She frightens you.”

“Not  _ her _ specifically, but what she might represent or mean? Yes, yes it does. It’s like juggling molotov cocktails upside down. One wrong move, one false step...”

“Well, seeing as I require you alive for some years yet to retain my sanity, I shall endeavor to help as I may.”

“Good old self-preservation, always a wonderful motivator.”

“So I have found it, as well.”

“Vastra, how can a lizard lady from the dawn of time be proficient in sarcasm despite not being able to tell a male from a female in mammals?”

“I could tell Doctor Song was a woman.” Odd smile. The Doctor is flummoxed.

“How?”

“The mammary glands she had so proudly on display for anyone to enjoy were a rather large hint.” Glancing at him. “Jealousy, Doctor? For what?”

“Nothing.” Defensive.

“A lie, but one you wish me to ignore. Very well.”

“Museums are out for a time, then. Where to now?”

“Wherever you like, Doctor.”

-090-

The fourth time he ran into Dr. Song, hearing that all too familiar, “Hello, sweetie,” behind them, the Doctor lost it.

“Are you following me?!” he demanded as he whirled around. “Are you  _ trying _ to cause trouble?”

“No,” she replied with her usual smirk. “And in fact, I’m not here for you, I’m here for  _ her. _ ” Pointing to Vastra. “I want to pick your brain for a paper I’m writing.”

“No, no you need to turn around and leave.”

“Why?”

“Because, whenever you show up trouble follows on your heels!” This was true, but not fair.

“As if you could stop me. Vastra, dear, how are you?” Touch on the arm. “Is he treating you well?”

Vastra is more used to River Song now, and even smiles. “Well enough, though he does like to run me ragged.”

“Oi, don’t pretend I’m not here!”

“There is a lovely place just around the corner we can eat and catch up.” To the Doctor. “You run along, sweetie, and try not to get into too much trouble. We’ll be along in a bit to fish you out if you do.”

The Doctor grumbles and skulks off.

“You do enjoy ‘winding him up’ as they say,” Vastra.

“Just can’t help myself sometimes. But really, this isn’t just a social call. Do you mind...?”

“Of course not. How can I help?”

-090-

The meal was every bit as delicious as promised, and between River’s questions about the hierarchy among her people they also did a great deal of catching up. Vastra sipped her tea, relaxed in the warm, alien sun, when a thought occurred to her.

“I have a question for you, River, if you do not mind me asking.”

“No, of course not.” Jotting down notes still.

“There is a human ritual that the Doctor once shared with me by accident, and he has refused to explain it further since then. Indeed, it seems to cause him a great discomfort and embarrassment whenever I bring it up.”

“Go on.” Amused.

Vastra described the Doctor’s thoughts, in vivid, blunt detail. River Song is highly amused. “Oh, that naughty boy.”

“Did he do something wrong?”

“No, the ritual...well, it’s not really a ritual. It’s sex.”

“Sex?” Unfamiliar word.

“It’s primary purpose, one could argue, is procreation. But I prefer to think of it as the most damn fun two or more naked bodies can have together.” Winks.

“Then...procreation is not dependent on a male and female together?”

“No, it is for most species.”

“Then...two males or two females cannot...sex together?”

“No, they can.”

“Then I am confused.”

“The way Silurians make eggs, is that the same way a ‘married’ pair, as you say, would...?”

“No. Those are two almost entirely exclusive things.”

“Well, then, this should be an interesting discussion indeed.”

“Apes are so  _ odd _ .” Mild disgust.

River Song laughed. “Don’t knock it until you try it, sweetie.”

“No thank you.”

River just laughs harder.

The Doctor runs by just then, being chased by a band of soldiers.

“River! Vastra! A little help here!”

“Well, that didn’t take long.”

And they’re off.

-090-

After the fact, the professor of archeology paused outside the TARDIS with the Doctor and Vastra. 

“I believe this is my cue to leave. Vastra, thank you again, our chat was fantastically helpful.” She kisses Vastra on the cheek.

Both she and the Doctor stare when Vastra nearly leaps out of her skin.

“What was that?!” she demands.

“A kiss. Sweetie...do Silurians not kiss?”

“No, we do not!” Disgust and revulsion. “Using one’s mouth to convey affection, as I believe you were attempting to do, is simply wrong.”

“Oh, scaley-sis...” The Doctor is laughing so hard he’s crying.

“There is nothing amusing about it!”

“You jumped like a startled cat, it absolutely was amusing,” River replied gently. 

“How else did you expect me to act? It is not a behavior my kind displayed.”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything.”

“Silurians will never kiss.”

“Never say never, darling. Especially with the Doctor meddling in your life. You never know where you may end up or what you may be doing.”

“I do not meddle...”

“You do so, love. Farewell, sweeties. We’ll see eachother again soon.”

-090-

“Doctor, I am going to need to leave for a few days,” Vastra announced as she found her skinny companion under the console of the TARDIS once again.

“Where are you going?”

“Nowhere, but you will not see me.”

“Why?”

“Because there is something I must do.” Getting annoyed.

“What could possibly take 2-3 days.”

“Fine. I am going to shed my entire skin, and will need to remain naked in a warm and wet environment while I do. Then I shall need to clean all my cracks and crevices to be certain nothing remains to invite infection and rot. Would you like to join me in this endeavor? I believe it would embarrass you a great deal, but also be extremely educational.”

“No,” the Doctor said quickly, face beet red. “No, I’m going to stay right here and try to purge the lovely image you just planted in my head. Thanks. It’ll probably take three days.”

“You are most certainly welcome.” Turning to stalk off.

“Wait. Where are you going to be? So I know what to avoid?”

“The TARDIS has provided a room.”

“How? I didn’t-”

“I was about to communicate my requirement without your assistance. She is quite helpful, and has been for some time.”

“Ok...since when you do you talk to the TARDIS.”

“Since the beginning.”

“No, that can’t be right. The TARDIS doesn’t talk to anyone else. She’s  _ my _ TARDIS.”

“Well, no. You are her person.”

“What-?” No, I’m not! She’s not really a she, she’s an it! A thing! I  _ own  _ her!”

“Feel free to keep telling yourself that lie.” Walking away.

“It’s not a lie!”

-090-

The molt went surprisingly well, despite the stress of the last several months. She felt refreshed, relieved of her old skin as she was, and dressed once more in the silver bodysuit.

“Oh, you’re finally done?” The Doctor said in relief.

“How quickly did you get bored?” Teasing? “Less than half a day?”

“Not the point. I have our next adventure!”

“What is that?”

“The Russian ballet at Christmas! You’ve taken a liking to ‘ape art’, well this is another creation of theirs.”

“Ballet? That is...?”

“Dancing!”

-090-

“So, what do you think?” the Doctor asked as intermission was called and he turned to his companion eagerly. She was wearing the perception filter again, and muttering about ‘itching’ from time to time.

“It is an impressive display of athleticism,” the Silurian admitted from their box seat. “Staying with their feet extended like that must be sheer agony after a time.”

“Oh, it is. For every girl on that stage there are dozens if not hundreds who didn’t make the cut. On injury in the wrong place, one misstep too many in practice. It is a highly competitive environment.”

“And you enjoy it’s performance?”

“Well, it can get a little monotonous at times, but I do admire them. They are not only beautiful to watch, they are shining beacons of what can be achieved through sacrifice and perseverance.”

“Hm.” Sees the Doctor staring at her chest again, third time she’s caught him doing that. “What? Is there something wrong with my ‘dress’?” Period correct from the TARDIS.

“No, no, it’s just...” Falls off, blushing again. “Ahem. Ah, you...your chest seems a bit, ah...” Fumbling for words. “Smaller than before.”

“My chest is the same size it has always been.” Confused.

“Yes, but you...” She catches his mental drift.

“You are referring to when I wear my uniform. That is for the reservoir.”

“A reservoir for what?”

“Whatever is needed. Much like the pockets you utilize in your own garments.”

“Why  _ there _ ?”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know.” Considering. “So...all Silurian soldiers have those...reservoirs there?”

“Yes.”

“So all your soldiers look female?”

“Of course not! Anyone with half a brain can see the difference.”

“I could say the same thing about humans.” She snorts. “Still, you might want to consider stuffing your top or people may not believe you are a female.”

“Why not?”

“...I’m going to let River take this one. She can be useful for once.”

“She is always useful, whether or not you wish to admit it.”

“Shh, they’re starting again.”

-090-

In retrospect, Vastra should have expected it would not end as planned. A robbery in the final act, a pretty young ballerina carried off as a hostage, discovering there was more underneath it all. It was always like that with the Doctor. Still, after a rooftop chase in the snow that had left her soaked and half-frozen she wondered how soon she could interrupt his discussion with the police to get back to the TARDIS.

“Vastra?”

Really, it was much too cold to be out here much longer.

“Vastra?”

Honestly, much longer and-

“Vastra!” the Doctor said as he put his face even with hers.

“Doctor,” she replied slowly. “I think I am getting too cold.”

“Nope, we’re past that point,” he said, pressing a hand to her face. “Let’s get you to the TARDIS, and quick, to warm up.”

“Yes,” she said, a voice distant. “That would be nice.”

-090-

Vastra woke the next morning, stripped to her skin and buried under her cocoon of blankets on her heated sleeping pad. Her head felt stuffed with cotton and her breath whistled a bit in her lungs.

“Still sleepy, oh scaley sister?” the Doctor asked as he popped into view. “How are we feeling today?”

“Not at my best,” she admitted, sitting up despite the blankets that bared her to the waist. “But-...what?”

“Hm?” Looking away. “Nothing. Nothing. Up for somewhere warm?”

“Warm would be best.” Wiping discharge from her nose.

“Good. Then you get dressed, and we’ll be on our way.” Turning to go.

“Doctor.”

“Yes?” Still turned away.

“You undressed me.”

“Your suit was soaked and you were freezing. I didn’t look, promise.”

“A wise decision.” Getting up without the blanket. The Doctor is her sibling, so she doesn’t think a bit about it. He is keenly uncomfortable with that fact.

“You’re sure you’re up for an adventure.”

“Yes, somewhere warm will be good.”

“Great!”

-090-

“Ruins in a desert,” Vastra said as she shaded her eyes with one hand. “Are we on Earth again?”

“Yes, this is the Sahara desert and those are the pyramids. Remarkable piece of construction, especially given the technology available when they were built.”

“And we are...?”

“Going on a tour!”

The heat permeated Vastra’s suit through the biosuit, baking her just past the point of pleasant. Still, she breathed easier in the dry air, and the heat chased away the last of her chill. The Doctor kept pressing her to drink, his coat seemed to contain an innumerable number of water bottles, but thirst seemed a distant concern.

The construction was fascinating, and the artistic abilities of the long-ago people only more so. Perspective, of course, would have helped, as would have proper use of shading. But as she was not certain her own people had been creating such works in that area in their own history, she could not judge fairly. 

Apes, Vastra thought, were perhaps not an infestation worthy of extermination. They had, given time as the apex predator of the planet, created many things of beauty and wonder. That did not, however, make them any less ‘apes’. The Doctor often introduced her as ‘the lizard lady from the dawn of time’, so why did they take such offense to being compared to their progenitors? It made so little sense.

And their appearance did not vary nearly as much as the Doctor believed. Her emerald coloring was the most common, yes, but there had been blue, white, red, orange, black and yellow present as well. Sea Devils from what she had heard had tended towards blacks, greys and browns. And there was one city from her time in a desert where most of the inhabitants had been the brown-red of their clay and sand. But coloration was the ape’s only true variation that she could see, and the lizard people had so much more than that.

  
  


There were those with three eyes, and some with only three fingers too. The crests came in so many potential variation she did not think she knew them all, and there were even some with tails. Or so she had heard. Compared to that, apes had hardly say variation at all. No wonder she had such a difficult time telling them apart.

“Well, hello, sweetie,” a familiar voice said behind her, Vastra turned to find the Doctor already standing with his arms crossed in disapproval. “Oh, don’t glare like that Doctor. It’s going to give you wrinkles, and I rather like that face the way it is.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Working. I have a handful of students with me finishing their term papers.”

“A school trip. Well, that should at least keep you out of trouble.”

“Oh, my dear Doctor, nothing can do that.” Turning to Vastra. “And how are you my dear?”

“Hot, actually,” the reptile muttered as she tugged at her collar. “And very tired.”

“Vastra, are you...?”

“We had a rough one yesterday,” Doctor, cutting in. “C’mon, scaley-sis. We’ll go back, let you rest a bit, and come back tonight. I think I’ve figured out how to sneak in past the guards to get a peek at the tomb. I love a good tomb.” Wide grin. 

“I saw the TARDIS. I’ll come visit tonight if you’re still around.”

“If you insist on tagging along, we’ll go around 9.”

“It’s a date, then.”

“C’mon, I think the TARDIS has acquired some camel meat for you.”

“Maybe later. They look tasty, but I am not hungry right now.”

“A rest, then. You’ll be shipshape by tonight. I’m sure of it.”

-090-

“Oh, thank God you’re here.”

River Song barely had time to register the Doctor’s face before she was yanked into the TARDIS and running after the skinny man down the hall. “What? What’s wrong?”

“It’s Vastra,” he replied as he yanked open a door. “Look.”

The reptilian woman lay propped up at an angle, air whistling from her lungs as she struggled for each breath.

“I don’t know of a hospital that specializes in Silurian biology,” he explained hastily as he hurried back to her side. “And if I take her to her people I risk waking them at the wrong time.”

River scans her. “Lung infection, pneumonia by the looks of it.”

“So what do we do?”

“We need a room full of steam, well-heated. And maybe a tub of hot water. Lots of buckets. We’ll need to make her expel the mucus from her lungs.”

“Can you do that?”

Pulling something from her pocket. “I can.”

-090-

Vastra cracked open her eyes to find River and the Doctor standing over her, talking quickly.

“Wha-?” was all she could manage between wheezing breaths.

“Easy, love,” River said, bending to take her arm. “We’re taking a short walk. You’ll feel better once we’re there.”

The Silurian was more than half-carried, but she remained mostly insensible to the indignity as she struggled for air.

The room prepared was small, the three of them crowding in beside the tub. Vastra was lowered to the floor, River kneeling beside her as she held something up to her face.

“Open your mouth. This won’t hurt a bit.”

The misting spray burned like acid as she breathed it in. “I lied.”

It immediately took effect, and a bucket was thrust under her face as green-brown slime began to expel itself from her mouth and nose. 

“Easy,” River said as she held the Silurian steady. “Don’t fight it. It will be over soon.”

“Hate....you...” Between gasps.

“Hate away, love, just let the medicine do it’s work.”

The Doctor looks away, he can’t take it. Eventually, it stops and Vastra curls in River’s lap, whimpering but breathing easily. 

“Now, we get in the tub.”

It takes the two of them to get her in, and River gets in as well to keep her head above water. Vastra is almost insensible, but breathing more deeply all the time.

“Best you empty the buckets now, before they start to smell.”

“Start to?”

“It will get worse, it’s the spray.”

“Yech.”

The Doctor returned to find the pair murmuring quietly to one another.

“Robes, please,” River said when she spotted him. “And towels.”

“What about your students?”

“They’ll survive. And I’m not the only chaperone.”

The Doctor fetched the requested items, and just as hurriedly left when the pair moved to leave the tub. Vastra was only distantly aware of the other woman stripping her to the skin, wrapping her in a dry robe and taking her back to her bed.

-090-

The Silurian woke feeling ravenous, rolling over to find an unexpected shock of curls beside her.

“River?” she asked, confused and disoriented.

“Sweetie?” a muffled voice replied.

“You’re awake,” the Doctor said, Vastra realizing she was sandwiched between the two. “Feeling better, I hope?”

“Yes, yes I...” Bits of the night before came back. “What...?”

“That is an excellent question, but the wrong one,” River replied as she sat up as well. “The correct question is: how could a healthy Silurian contract that bad of an infection that quickly? The answer is: they can’t. Which means you aren’t healthy. And the only thing I haven’t been able to keep an eye on is your diet, so: young lady, have you been eating your vegetables?”

-090-

“You’re an  _ omnivore _ ?” the Doctor said as they sat together a short time later, sharing a pot of tea. “But...but you’ve never...”

“Oh, for...look at her teeth! She is clearly meant to eat more than just meat.”

“I hadn’t noticed, but that is a good point.”

“I  _ like _ meat,” Vastra grumbled, refusing to look either in the face as she sipped her own drink daintily. “At first it was because I had so little time left. Then it was a habit, one I didn’t want to break.”

“The habit left you vulnerable to an infection that could have killed you,” River snorted bluntly.

“Yes, I know...”

“So, what, you just need a bit of mash with your steak every now and then, or...”

“I will make the proper arrangements.” To River. “Thank you for your help.”

“Anytime, sweetie.” Kiss on the cheek. “Well, I do need to run. Until next time.”

“Who said there will be one?”

“Spoilers!”

-090-

“Can you make specific adjustments when you regenerate?” Vastra asked as they crouched just inside the alley and prepared to run.

“Is this really the time?”

“You should try to be taller, with longer legs. Yours are too short to properly sprint.”

“They are not!”

“Even if I were an ape I could outrun you. That is how short you are.”

“Hang on a minute, that’s not-”

“It’s open!”

They ran.

-090-

“Let’s see,” the Doctor said as he paced about the console. “It’s our anniversary soon, isn’t it?”

“Anniversary? What of?”

“When we started traveling together. It’s been a year, right?”

“Doctor, it’s been three.”

“How do you know?”

“That’s how many times I’ve molted.”

“Ah.” Looking flustered. “Well, then we should definitely celebrate. It’s a long overdue, wouldn’t you say?”

“And how would we do that?”

“I know!”

-090-

The Olympics, Vastra had to admit, were incredibly entertaining. Silurians, of course, would have won all the contests if competing against mere apes. But the furless apex predator did hold its own admirably. The gymnasts in particular she found to be especially interesting, in the ways they could spring about with so little apparent effort. Their balance and grace. 

“Which one are you rooting for?”

“The one in the red and green uniform. She is quite good.”

“Oh, getting better at distinguishing the genders are we?”

“No, but the program states this is for women. ‘She’ would be the correct term, yes?”

“Yes.”

“To be honest, they are even more difficult to tell than normal. They seem to lack the prominent mammaries you have mentioned before as being on most female apes. The only fact I can see is they are smaller and more slender than most of the males we have seen compete. But that is only comparing among these...” Checking the paper in her hands. “-gymnasts.”

“Ah.” Amused. “Of course.”

The fencing, though, amused Vastra.

“That,” she said with unabashed scorn. “Is just silly.”

“How so? I thought you would appreciate it. Like the marksman trials.”

“The weapons you have in this age are primitive. That there are apes that can use them so effectively is impressive. This  _ fencing _ though...it is more a dance than a form of combat.”

“Let me guess: Silurians do it better.”

“Our contests of martial prowess were a good deal more useful, yes.” Wide grin. “And...efficient.”

“Where did you rank?”

“As a soldier, fairly high. Once I was raised to Commander, though, I was forbidden to participate.”

“No one wants to hit an officer.”

“Quite the opposite. And it was considered foolish to risk a valuable member of the military in such a display.”

“Were they well-attended events.”

“By the military community, yes. Members of our clutches would come as well, but those with no immediate connection considered the displays barbaric.”

“No blood sport for the masses, then?”

“No. It is said in our early days we would pit criminals against captured predators of the time. Praise the goddess we moved past that waste relatively quickly.”

“What is your definition of ‘relatively quickly’?”

“Well, there had been no recorded events of that sort for at least 10,000 years when I was in school.”

“What about ______? Or _______?”

“Aberrations. Outcasts from true Silurian society.”

“_______ was a city of thousands, only half the size of your own home city.”

“And on the side of the equation are the Ten ______ of _______, the League of _______ and the _______ Accords in the East. For every one Silurian of _______, there were thousands who chose not to live as a savage.”

“Well, were born into it at any rate.”

“We accepted those who left. Many joined the military, as they felt more comfortable there.”

“After you hobbled their minds, yes.”

“We were protecting our people. Spies and other agents of subversion had been attempted in the past.” Long pause. “There is no such thing as the perfect society, Doctor. Not even the Timelords.”

“No,” he agreed quietly. “Especially not them.”

The Doctor was even more surprised when he realized how impressed Vastra was with the swimming.

“Can you swim?” he asked, surprised that he did not know the answer already.

“Passably well,” she replied as she watched the athletes in fascination.

“Oh? Something Silurians aren’t fantastic at?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she replied dryly. “We are not Sea Devils. If we stay submerged in water for extended periods of time our scales will begin to rot. Is it not so for apes?”

“Well, yes, but I think our skin handles it better than yours. Timelord, I mean, and ape too,” the Doctor replied loftily. “The TARDIS has a swimming pool, you know, if you want to practice.”

“I do not need to practice. My skill is sufficient.”

“Sufficient as in...?”

“As in I will not immediately drown.” Grumbling.

“Right. No water worlds for you, then.”

The most surprising, perhaps, was Vastra’s reaction to the equestrian trials.

“Apes train and ride those creatures?”

“Well, yes.”

“They look half-mad.”

“According to Granny Weatherwax, they are.”

“Who is that?”

“A character in a book by Terry Pratchett. You’d like his work, probably as he specialized in satire.”

“And that is...”

“Literary sarcasm.”

“Yes, I probably would like his books then.” Back to the horses. “This is a level of bravery I had not expected to find among the apes. That, or madness.”

“I’ve heard it called being ‘mad for horses’ before, so it is possible...”

Surprisingly enough, for once nothing went wrong. A child stopped Vastra once, peering up at her seriously, then walked away with a satisfied nod. But that was the extent of strangeness for once that occurred.

“Don’t look at me,” the Doctor protested when Vastra turned to him in puzzlement. “I have no idea.”

When Vastra mentioned the lack of occurrences, the Doctor laughed.

“It’s a highly policed event,” he explained lightly. “On an intergalactic scale. It gets transmitted off-planet for a hundred million billion planets to enjoy. Support for your country of choice can be quite fierce, and official Olympic merchandise goes for a pretty penny on the black market.”

“And the apes are oblivious to this?”

“For now. Eventually they catch on.”

“Then what happens?”

“The same thing that always happens with humans discovering a new market. They make a lot of money.”

-090-

“Vastra, I did apologize already.”

“So you did.”

“It was an accident.”

“So you said.”

“I would never have done that on purpose. C’mon, your anger is giving me a headache.”

Whirling, hissing. “You dropped it in a  _ volcano _ .”

“Not  _ intentionally _ .”

“It was one of the only things left that I had of my people and now it is  _ gone _ !”

“Knock knock, is anyone-” Seeing the glares. “Oh dear.” Vastra whirls around and stalks off. “Bad day I take it?”

“Why are you here?” Annoyed.

“Research trip, saw the TARDIS and thought I’d pop in for a visit. So what did you do this time?”

“Why does it have to be me?”

“Is it not?”

“Well, yes, but why would you just  _ assume _ ...?”

“What did you do?”

“...I may have accidentally dropped her sword into a volcano.”

“The sword that belonged to her sister?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, sweetie.”

“I know, I know...I was trying to, well, it doesn’t matter. My grip slipped, and-” Hands up. “Gone.”

“Why were you in a volcano?”

“Saving a princess from being sacrificed to a fire elemental on Torchian Six.”

“And then you came here because....”

“Had to leave in a hurry, made some locals mad. And then TARDIS needed a recharge so...”

“Should take, what, two hours?”

“Yes, how do you know that?”

“Spoilers.” Over her shoulder as she’s leaving. “Should be enough time to get Vastra cooled off.”

“I’d appreciate that, she really is giving me a headache!”

-090-

It took River passing the same door three times to realize the TARDIS was leading her astray. Laying a hand on the wall she said softly, “It’s him she’s avoiding, not me. I’m trying to fix it.”

The hallway seemed to twist in her vision, and suddenly the door she was looking for was there beside her.

“Thank you,” she said and entered the room.

Vastra sat at her desk, charcoal stick in hand sketching what looked like a city skyline.

“River?” she said as she turned in surprise.

“How do you always know it is me?”

“Your scent. It is...unique.”

“Is that a polite way of saying ‘too disgusting to forget it’?”

“It is not bad now, I’ve gotten used to it.” Catching River’s unamused look. “It never was bad. Merely a transition from ‘food’ to ‘person’.”

“Right.” Subject change time. “I’ve never asked you who these are.”

“My siblings.”

“As in...brothers and sisters.”

“Yes.”

“That is an awful big clutch.”

“It is technically two clutches. My birth clutch and my...second clutch.” River nods, she already knows. Vastra doesn’t question how.

“Right.” Points to one. “What’s this handsome fellow’s name?”

“You can tell he is male?”

“Oh, I can always tell.” Winks. “I’ve never had lizard, but after our conversation I will admit I am...curious about a few things.”

“He only has one.”

“How do you know?”

“I know every scale of my brothers and sisters. We molted together until we became adults.”

“Pity.”

“It does tend to be rare, or so I was told. I had little interest in discovering so for myself.”

“So I thought, after our one conversation.”

“And you?”

“Oh, I’m like a double-hinged door.” Leaning in. “I swing both ways. Feel like trying ape?”

“I am sure by ape standards you are quite attractive, but...no.”

“There’s more to it than that though?”

“You love the Doctor.” River stiffens behind her. “I can smell it on you. The attraction, and the desire. Besides the fact that it is considered extremely rude to lie with your clutchmate’s chosen mate, there is no...resonance.”

“Resonance.”

“It is a Silurian thing. You are fierce and strong, River Song. And my friend. But only my friend.”

“That is a shame...how does the Doctor feel about me?”

“You know I cannot tell you that.”

“Spoilers.” Sardonic.

The door opens. “Is it safe yet? My headache is gone, so...”

“Yes, it is safe you infuriating ape,” Vastra replied fondly.

“Better an infuriating ape than a daft old lizard.” Grinning. “Well, my scaley sister, I think I found a way to make up for losing your sword.”

“How?”

“We are going to Japan.”

-090-

“You don’t have to come along,” the Doctor said to River.

“But I love Feudal Era Japan, and with you here something interesting is bound to happen.”

“Nothing of the sort. We’re just going in, finding Vastra a sword and going home. That’s it.”

“If you say so, sweetie.”

-090-

“Not a word, River,” the Doctor warned as they hid in an alley from searching Cybermen. “Not one bloody word.”

“Then I will say it for her,” Vastra hissed back. “She was  _ right _ .”

“Oh, not you too. Look, how was I supposed to know that-”

“Intruders detected.”

“Run!”

-090-

“Well,” the Doctor said several hours later. “You did get a new sword.”

“She got five,” River replied in amusement, watching the Silurian carry her large bundle to the TARDIS with pride.

“They were gifts for disabling the doomsday device,” Vastra said with dignity. “Which I did, alone, because you two were too busy squabbling.”

“Yes, yes, alright...”

“What a pleasantly boring trip,” River added as they entered the time machine. “I shall have to come to see you the next time I want a nice boring vacation, clearly nothing ever happens when you’re around.”

“Oh, get off it...”

“Thank you, darling, for saving the day.” Kisses Vastra on the cheek, and the lizard woman jumps.

“River!”

“Sorry, I forgot.” Her smile is anything but sorry. “It is good to know he has someone competent looking out for him.”

Vastra amused at the Doctor’s jealousy along the bond. “I do what I can. Must you leave us so soon?”

“Work calls, but I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon.”

“I hope so.”

“I don’t.” The Doctor, grumbling under his breath. Sees his sister’s glare. “Oh, alright. I don’t really mean it.”

“I’ll miss you too, sweetie.” The TARDIS lands, and she leaves. 

“Vastra,” the Doctor said as they took off again, eyes on the console as his face turned red. “You and River...you, uh...” She catches his mental drift.

“No,” she said fondly, giving him a touch on the cheek as she crossed to him. He glanced up at that, and turned even more red. “And I won’t.” 

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, she is not my type, but even if she were I would not hurt you that way.” Forehead to forehead. “You are my brother, Doctor. And I know your mind.”

“That’s funny, because I’m fairly sure I haven’t made up my mind about her yet.”

“Lies to yourself do not become you Doctor.” Laughing to herself. “I am hungry, you?”

“Actually, yes. I could do with a snack.” Eager to change the subject. 

“Then let’s eat.”

-090-

“How long have you been with the Doctor now, dear?” River Song asked as they lay together beside the crystalline pool. The Doctor was at the museum , of course, and the pair had opted not to spend the day with him for once. Vastra still wore her silver suit, but she soaked up the heat from the alien sun like a dry sponge in water. 

“Five years,” she replied drowsily. “Give or take.”

“How do you figure?”

“I have molted four times, and my fifth approaches.” Grumbling. “My scales itch.” Normal voice. “They are, approximately, a year apart.”

“I see.”

The professor had been absent more often of late, and the Doctor had been broody as a result. Often appearing hunted when the profession was gone for too long, and acting irrationally annoyed when she appeared again. Still, hopefully a day to himself would help, and at the very least she would be in a better frame of mind to handle his turbulent thoughts. 

Vastra turned to find the Professor watching her. “Yes?” she asked softly. 

“Change your mind about apes yet, sweetie?” Teasing. 

“Which part?”

“Any of it.”

“I don’t know,” the Silurian replied, closing her eyes once more. “Five years, but it seems to have passed in a blink. I have seen so much, but I wonder sometimes what I have learned from it all.”

“It’s a bit like being trapped in a whirlwind, traveling with him. All dizzying speed and chaos. It makes it hard to focus on any one thing for long.”

“Yes, exactly.” Waving on hand. “Apes. Some have done incredible things, or will do incredible things. I have difficulty keeping track of where we are in time.”

“At any point, both could apply.”

“Very well.” Sighing. “Some of them are brave and kind and clever. Not many, in my experience, but some.”

“And?”

“And...I don’t know. My people are still safe, slumbering under the crust of the Earth. The apes, whatever their qualities, are not ready for them to awake. And whenever I realize that it leaves me feeling a bit...lost.”

“How so?”

“The Doctor can’t tell me when or if they will awaken. It is not a fixed point of time. He said if I pick a time, he will take me there and help me try to integrate the Silurians into human society. Only, I cannot, because what if I choose wrong? And he will be there, which means he cannot swoop into save the day. It could become a fixed point. I don’t know enough to risk it.”

“No choosing is still a choice.”

“I know. Believe me, I have tried to consider it from every possibility...and can find no compromise I can live with.”

“You will find it someday.”

“A spoiler?”

“I prefer to think of it as sharing hope.”

“Thank you.”

-090-

Dinner that night was at a swanky, upscale restaurant, and RIver convinced Vastra to wear a black dress that matched her red. The Doctor didn’t seem to mind, he put on his own fancy suit and waited for his ‘ladies’ to finish getting ready.

“Oh, no,” River said as Vastra stepped out from behind her changing screen. “That won’t do at all.”

“What?”

“Put this on underneath, it will help.” Pushing something padded into her hands.

“Help what?”

“Just do it.”

-090-

“Well, well, well, you two are lovely tonight,” the Doctor said when they finally emerged from their sitting room. 

Vastra glanced down at the two humps now situated on her chest and snorted. “I feel ridiculous.”

“If you weren’t my scaley sister, I would compliment you on them.”

“Well, I’m not your brother  _ or _ sister, and I think they suit your figure marvelously. Shall we?”

“I think we shall.”

Vastra finds herself in the middle heading down the hall, and then at the table when they are seated together. They are surrounded by such an odd mix of aliens that they do not stand out at all. They order food, and a live band begins to play. They enjoy their food, and speak of light things.

“Vastra, have you ever danced before?” the Doctor said when a few couples began to trickle onto the floor. 

“You know I have not,” she replied with gentle reproof, sipping her bloodwine with pleasure. She had not been certain it would affect her as promised, but a pleasant warmth had settled over her during her second glass.

“Five years together, and I’ve never taken you dancing,” the Doctor said as he bounced to his feet. “Obviously, a mistake on my part.”

“Doctor, really...” Laughing protest.

“C’mon, Scaley-sis. I insist.”

Vastra rose, steady despite her pleasant glow. “Very well.”

The Doctor, it turned out, was an excellent dancer. His Silurian sibling was obviously not as practiced, but she had an odd grace that drew the eye. They were passed a short time later by River being led about by a three-eyed blue-skinned alien in a snappy suit. 

“Jealous?” Vastra asked when she noticed the Doctor tracking them through the crowd.

“Of course not,” he replied quickly, turning back to her with a grin. “Just...checking on her. The fellow looks suspicious, that’s all.”

“I am fairly certain she is more than capable of handling anyone suspicious.” Teasing.

“I know, I just...she’s your friend.” Defensive. “I know you wouldn’t like it if anything happened to her.”

“She is your friend, too.”

“I don’t know what she is to me, yet.”

“As you wish.” Chuckling to herself.

Twice more the Professor twirled by, each time being led by a different fellow. The Doctor followed them with his eyes each time, mouth set in a line, before pretending he had been doing nothing of the sort. Vastra did not tease him further, but he caught her knowing smile and flushed.

A tap on the shoulder made them pause, and they turned to find River standing there with a mischievous and annoyance.”

“Oh,” the Doctor said, preening a bit. “Well, if Vastra doesn’t mind I suppose I can-”

“I’m stealing Vastra,” she cut in gently. “Coming, sweetie?”

“I would be delighted,” the Silurian replied, smiling wide. 

River took the lead, leaving a flummoxed Doctor behind torn between amusement and annoyance.

“Winding him up again?”

“He was being rude and he knows it.” Sniffing. “He deserves being ignored for a moment.”

“You are very good at leading.”

“Thank you.”

“Not as good as him, of course, but...”

“He has had a few more centuries of practice.” Dryly. “Who’s side are you on?”

“My own, which is apparently stuck between the two of you while you poke at the sleepy tyrannosaurus with a stick. He will not stay sleepy and confused forever.”

“Oh, I’m counting on it.” She winks.

“Is it worth it?”

“Oh, yes. Younger me thanks older me most definitely.” Her smile turns sad.

“You miss him.”

“I miss what will be for him. I have no idea if I will have it again before my end.”

“There is always hope.”

“Yes, I suppose there is.”

The song ends, and Vastra goes back to the table while River finds herself another partner.

“Did you have a nice spin about the room?”

“I did. Did you enjoy pouting by yourself?”

“I am not pouting.”

“You should ask her to dance.”

“Why? She clearly preferred your company to mine.”

“As I understand it, the one to lead the dance is the one who makes the request.”

“Well, yes.”

“Then do you want her to lead your dance, or would you prefer to be the one choosing the steps?”

“What are you up to?”

“Merely trying to help you make up your mind.”

Vastra accepted her fourth bloodwine from the waiter, and the Doctor gave her an askance glance.

“Something to say?”

“Are you sure you should be having that much?”

“Doctor, I am fine.”

“Then come dance with me again.”

“Will you think about asking River?”

“Yes, I will think about it.”

“Then I would be happy to dance.”

The Silurian decided that while she did not mind dancing, and the Doctor was an excellent partner, he was not the right one for her. She had not lied to River, the Doctor was the better dancer of the two, but she had preferred the woman’s lighter touch to his firmer grip. It was not unpleasant, merely a preference she could not help but notice. And the entire time, he kept an eye on the scarlet-clad River as she flitted from partner to partner with the ease of a butterfly courting many flowers.

When she finally approached, though, several dances later the Doctor did not bother to ask. He simply let go of Vastra, and immediately took up with River instead. The professor looked surprised at first, then annoyed and finally pleased. The Silurian third wheel resigned herself to an evening of enjoying the music and sipping her bloodwine at the solitude of her empty table. The few requests for a dance she received she politely declined, and observed as the couple on the floor somehow transitioned from a nice, private interlude to a competition. 

Oh, Vastra could imagine either or both having started it. A witty remark hiding a perfectly placed verbal barb. The clever riposte and slash of the tongue. It wasn’t going to end until one called it quits or they were kicked out. Vastra checked the clock. It was 10 pm, and the restaurant closed at 2 am. Well, she had better get comfortable. She had four hours to kill.

Vastra could have left. It is likely neither of her companions would have noticed for a while. Or minded in the least. But something told her to stay, some instinct that tickled the back of her mind and warned that leaving would not end well. Besides, she had her own thoughts about how the evening should end, and that required her to stay as well. 

Then there was the bloodwine. Her people had their own methods of intoxication, generally an herb that when burned produced pleasant visions. It was called ‘Dreaming’, and could last several hours in the right conditions. Vastra had never been a particular fan, the smoke had tickled her nose unpleasantly and her ‘dreams’ never seemed as pleasant as promised. But this bloodwine made her blood sing softly, a glowing warmth in her chest that beat in time to her heart. This, she thought, she could get used to.

Caution made her take her time with the exotic drink, and alternated it with cold water.

She was correct, it was 2 am when the pair finally sat down again, slick with sweat and trying not to show it. 

“You didn’t have to wait for us,” the Doctor said, having the grace to look abashed. “We got a bit...carried away.”

“I didn’t mind,” Vastra replied as she slowly stood, swaying a bit as she did.

“Easy there. How many cups did you have?”

“That I don’t know. Enough that the room is swaying slightly.”

“I’ll take her left, you take her right.” They each get an arm and together they leave.

The Silurian was relatively steady, though, and they chatted amicably as they made their way back to their suite. 

“I believe,” Vastra said as they entered the sitting room, “that you both owe me after abandoning me tonight.”

“And how would you like to be paid, oh Scaley-sister of mine?”

“For both of you to sleep with me tonight.” Long pause of awkward silence. “I meant that literally. Both of you, sleeping in a bed, with me in the middle. I am starting to feel cold, and you are both quite warm.”

“A sleepover.” River, amused. “What are we, 12?”

“It is a Silurian thing,” Vastra replied with a wave of one hand. “Humor me.”

“Do you have any objections?” River to Doctor.

“If it’s just sleeping, no.” Shivers. “Nothing personal, Vastra, but now that we’re...” Hand waving for mental link. “...and I know what that means for your people anything else would be beyond wrong.”

“Agreed.”

“And sleepovers are a Silurian thing?” River teasing.

“Every night,” the Silurian replied sadly. “No one sleeps with less than three or four others around you unless you are pairing off in a private room. Friends, clutch-mates, mind-mates...everyone together. Each night. I did not know what it was to sleep alone until I met the Doctor.” More quietly. “It does not agree with me.”

“I’m going to change and wash up,” the Doctor said, slipping towards the door. “But I will be back.”

“I can’t decide if you are brutal or brilliant, sweetie.”

“The truth is I am lonely and missing my family.”

“I know that feeling quite well. I will be back shortly, unless you need help...?”

“I will manage, thank you.”

Vastra did manage, and climbed into the middle of the large bed to await her companions. 

The Doctor returned first, and the Silurian was pleased to note he had bothered to shower. She had gotten used to the scent of Timelord and Ape, which were surprisingly similar, but an overabundance of sweat was still unpleasant. Silently, he sat next to her, looking guilty. 

“We haven’t done this in a few weeks, have we?” he asked as he fiddled with the buttons on his striped pajamas. “I got busy, and...I’m sorry.”

“I am not angry,” she replied, putting her head on his shoulder. “Not about that.”

“About abandoning you?”

“More annoyed with that.” Wrinkling her nose. “The bloodwine was quite good, though.”

“How many did you have?”

“Not as many as you think.” Chuckling. “Come, River will be awhile. She will wash and dry and her fur-”

“Hair,” he corrected quickly. 

“Hair,” she amended, rolling her eyes. “As she dislikes sleeping with it damp.”

“Are you sure she’ll come back?” Doubtful.

“Yes, because I asked her to and she is my friend.”

“If you say so.”

Linking her arms with his felt normal now, a familiar action repeated so many times it was almost second nature. She let him press his forehead to hers and start the hum. He did like being in charge, and it made little difference to her. 

A time later, River asked, “Am I intruding?”

“Only if I must get up to fetch you,” Vastra replied quietly.

“No need,” River chuckled. The mattress shifted on her free side, and a solid warmth was suddenly pressed against her back. The woman threw an arm about Vastra’s waist, drawing herself closer still until-

Ah. 

The Doctor gave Vastra a knowing grin as her eyes popped open in surprise. 

“Well, well...”

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” River.

“N-not you. He’s being ridiculous.”

“ _ I’m _ being ridiculous? I’m not the one-” Half-laughing.

_ Doctor! _

At which point their conversation became purely mental, ranging between threats of revealing and rampant teasing. The Doctor simply couldn’t get over her reaction to River’s breasts pressed against her back. 

_ Not so against apes anymore, are we? _

The realization that her darkening scales were essentially a blush was only fuel to the fire. 

_ Do I need to be worried now? _

_ No, I gave you my word. _

_ Right.  _ Long pause. _ She would have a field day if she knew. _

_ She’d also have a field day if she knew about that  _ _ dream _ ...

_ That’s not fair, I can’t control dreams and I didn’t realize we were still linked. _

_ Neither is this. _

_ Oh, but it is a great deal of fun. _

With a growl of frustration, Vastra broke the link, the Doctor rolling over and chucked. “Suit yourself.”

“Sweetie?” River asked into the darkened room, sleep making her voice thick.

“It’s nothing,” Vastra replied as she turned towards the Professor instead. The action put a bit of space between them, until the woman rolled over herself and backed herself into the Silurian embrace. This was still preferable to before, and Vastra complied by wrapping the woman in her arms. 

And, surprisingly enough, they all slept.

-090-

What Vastra meant as one night of comfort for herself with the bonus of tweaking her companions’ noses became a habit. A habit that, she suspected, had to do with the discovery that she was not as immune to the ‘charms’ of apes as she had once believed. The Doctor seemed to encourage the ‘sleepovers’ as they were called after that, finding his scaley sister’s discomfort vastly amusing. And River seemed to enjoy them just as much, cuddling with the Silurian as readily as one might a puppy. She called it ‘breaking her in’, though for what Vastra had no idea. 

“You did suggest this,” the Doctor reminded her teasingly.

“Yes, I did,” the Silurian soldier agreed, trying to focus past the woman's breasts pressed into her shoulders.

_ You know you could... _ Suggestive.

_ Are all Timelords this....promiscuous? _

_ When you live this long and lead so many lives it’s hard to believe in belonging to only one person. Besides, she isn’t mine yet, and I’m not convinced she will be. _

_ I still wouldn’t. It would be wrong. _

_ We aren’t even the same species. _

_ And yet we are siblings. Also, I gave my word.  _ Smugly.  _ Besides, she might choose me then. _

_ As you wish. _ Amused.

_ That is a reference to something, is it not? _

_ You know it? _

_ No, but you always get a certain smug feel to your mind whenever you do that. _

_ But I always reference things.  _

_ You are also always smug. _

_ Oi...! _

It was the Doctor who broke the link that night, grumpily rolling over with a huff as his sister chuckled in satisfaction. 

“One for you, eh?” River laughed as Vastra turned towards her, smiling in the near dark.

“He can’t always win,” Vastra replied, feeling the Doctor’s grumble behind her. 

“I almost wish I could hear you,” River murmured, remaining facing the Silurian for once. “Almost.”

“It is mostly poking at each other.”

“Is that what it was like with your siblings?”

“Yes and no. There was more teasing, but less from each person. There is more...communal awareness maybe? It is hard to describe.”

“And you could sense them...?”

“Always.”

“Can you always sense the Doctor?”

“Yes.”

“Oh dear, I bet that gets awkward.”

“There are things he does not like me to comment on. Some of which I am still not entirely sure why.”

“I can imagine so.”

_ Would you like me to mention your sudden fascination with breasts?” _

“Of course,” the Silurian added hastily, “there are also times I prefer him not to mention things as well. It is a trust that goes both ways.”

“Of course,” River agreed, openly laughing now.

-090-

“Oh, Doctor,” River sighed as she sat beside Vastra, the city in flames around them.

“You did ask for his help,” the soldier pointed out, adding as an afterthought. “You also have several of those burs stuck in your hair from running through the thickets earlier.”

“Do I really?” Trying to wrestle one out, only to find it more tangled than before. “Some days I  _ hate _ my curls.”

“Hold still,” Vastra said as she turned towards her. “And let me.” Works in silence for a bit. “Why are you upset with him?”

“Him?”

“The Doctor. You did ask for his help.”

“And I did need it, though don’t tell him that.” Laughing weakly. “It was close. Without your timely arrival, I’m not sure...” Words fall off, and the woman sighs heavily. “It is...the only quarrel I really ever have with the Doctor. He comes in, sees what needs fixing, and leaves. Just like that. He doesn’t take  _ responsibility _ .”

“Responsibility? For what?” Confused.

_ “This!” _ Waving her hands. “Thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed. And who knows how many dead, caught in the flames by accident.”

“The Doctor overthrew a tyrannical government that threatened to execute you and countless other innocents for violating laws you were not informed of. Hundreds of thousands have been released from slavery, and one free to live their lives as they see fit. He is a hero, and he should be lauded as one.”

“He is a hero,” River agreed. “I am not condemning him. I am saying that his victory is not bloodless.”

“They rarely are.”

And what about what follows? There will be chaos and unrest. There is no proper government in place to step in and care for the people.”

“You are implying the Doctor is responsible for this as well.”

“At least a little. What must the people of this world think of him? He swooped in, defeated their great generals and overthrew their tyrannical leaders. On this strange planet of forests with one lone, huge river, he has changed the course of life for everyone.”

“He cannot stay after each victory. If he did, he would never be able to move onto the next. He would not be able to go where he was needed and do what must be done if-”

“I know,” River cut in gently. “Which is what makes this so hard. He does so much good and yet- who pays the butcher’s bill in the end?”

“You are afraid?”

“For him, yes. For what is to come.”

“What will you do, then?”

“This time, we will stay for a few weeks. My team and I. Try to help organize the people, and begin the work needed to rebuild the city. This time, I will help take responsibility for this...” She does not finish that statement.

The Doctor wandered up then, putting his pockets and looking vaguely confused. 

“Lose something?” River asked, teasing.

“If I have, I hope I don’t miss it as I have no idea what,” he replied with a grin. It faded at the sight of the fires. “All things come with a cost,” he said sadly. “Though all things considered it- ...could have been much worse.”

“So it could have,” River agreed, standing briskly. “But it’s probably best if you go. I’ll help them from here.”

“Are you sure? We could-...” Thinking. “Well, I honestly don’t know what. But we could try.”

“No. You’d go mad sitting still that long.”

“I have before.”

“And you are mad, therefore...”

“Can one get madder?”

“Time to leave, then.” Vastra standing. “River.” A cheek touch. “Until next time.”

“Until then, Doctor.” A nod.

“River.” A nod.

But despite her friend’s absence, the professor’s words stewed in the back of the Silurian’s mind. Responsibility. She did not believe the Doctor could be held entirely accountable for every possible effect his actions caused. Not when weighed against the good he had done. The lives and entire galaxies that still existed because of him. She knew this, not as one who had heard second and third hand accounts, but as one who had seen through his eyes. Who had known his hearts and all their accumulated scars of eleven lifetimes of accumulated love and loss. He was good, whatever he may think, from the tips of his spiky hair to the toes of his tied trainers. 

And yet...responsibility. She had taken lives. Many times. Those she had taken in the course of her duty as a Soldier and Commander were deaths of necessity. Meat for life, and punishment for those who had broken their laws. Protecting the innocent and the weak. Lives taken for the Doctor were more complicated. He did not use violence as a first resort, but he had resorted to it when necessary. He had resigned enemies to death and worse. Again, though, those lives taken were justified. For it had been justice. 

Vastra knew she was avoiding one memory in particular. The one time she had taken lives with rage and impunity. The Doctor had called it a mistake, had given her innumerable reasons why she was not at fault. She had been enraged by the snapping of her sister’s bonds and the premature opening of the hibernation pod. The pods had not been designed for so many thousands of years, and so her reaction could not have been foreseen. It could have happened to anyone, and anyona may have done worse than she.

‘They’ were not she, and she had promised her Sappa. She had not forgotten. 

_ All life was sacred.  _

‘I am doing my duty,’ she told herself firmly as she helped the Doctor send the TARDIS back into the time vortex. 

“Everything alright?” the Doctor asked as he circled around to her side. “You feel a bit...odd.”

“Fine,” she replied quickly, hiding her thoughts behind a brick wall. “Only tired. That adventure required more running than normal.”

“It sure did,” he laughed, “My calves are sore...any preferences on where to now?”

“As always, wherever you want.”

“Right you are, Scaley-sis of mine. Off we go!”

-090-

The first time River had stolen the TARDIS (and Vastra with it) the Soldier had been very worried. By the fifth time, she had begun to wonder just how oblivious her dear brother was. After the tenth she simply accepted it as something that was inevitable and generally fun. By now, seven years into traveling with the Doctor, she had lost count of how many times River had gotten them into trouble and then back out again. Not as often as the Doctor, of course but it was close.

River referred to their outings as ‘hen night’, though her companion had no idea why, and they were usually on a trip to see some place the Professor was curious about but didn’t want to drag the Doctor into things. She enjoyed taking Vastra on these little jaunts, claiming the lizard woman helped keep her out of trouble. Considering the scrapes gotten into by the pair, it made Vastra wonder what sort of hijinks the Professor got into when alone. It didn’t happen often, but she and the Doctor would return from an adventure and there would, just for a moment, a taste of a certain curly haired Professor who wasn’t quite an ape lingering in the Control Room. If the Doctor knew, he never said, and she never asked lest she ruin an excellent kept secret. 

This particular ‘Hen Night’, though, had been almost baring compared to others in the past.

“Please, explain what we are doing again?” Vastra asked as she settled into a box suite at the theatre. 

“It’s a Musical,” the professor explained as she comfortably linked arms with her companion. “The Phantom of the Opera.” The box is covered by a perception field, making their conversation safe.

“And?”

“And we’re going to watch it.” Amused.

“And that’s it?”

“For once, yes. Which means we couldn’t bring the Doctor, because he’s never made it to the end of a performance without an interruption. Except the Olympics, but those don’t count.”

“That’s because of the...”

“Intergalactic interest, yes. Which one did he take you to?”

“______ ______.”

“______ in ______ and _____ ______ _____.”

“You were there?”

“No.” More quietly. “I spent most of my childhood alone. When I wasn’t being trained I was devouring whatever information was given me. One time it was the entire collected video history of the Olympics up until that point in time. I watched it in its entirety three times through.”

“I suppose, as an archeologist, you must love history.”

“I suppose that I do.”

“Did you discover that from the information you devoured, or...?”

“From my mother, though she does not know it.”

“You have never mentioned her before.”

“It’s...complicated.”

“For a time traveler? Yes, I believe it probably is.” Sympathetic.

“Ah, it begins.”

Describe the show and Vastra’s reaction to it. How music is generally ‘meh’ for her, but the organ themes make her particularly happy. 

Dinner afterwards was at a tiny hole in the wall the intergalactic globe-trotter knew of. It catered to ‘very long distance’ travelers, and even had bloodwine. Vastra was immensely pleased. 

“You had better still be eating your vegetables,” River, teasing.

“I am,” the Silurian replied haughtily. “Though only the ones that agree with me...”

“Yes, the Doctor mentioned your rather delicate digestion.”

“It is no laughing matter.” Shuddering. “I think I nearly killed us both with the broccoli. I have avoided it’s cousins since then as well.”

“A wise decision.” Food arrives, describes.

The talk was light. River described some of her students and fellow staff members, often applying her razor wit to sketch their personalities and likenesses. Vastra discussed her forays into the realm of painting and the difficulties of realizing she was partially color blind. Or perhaps it would be better to say she had finally realized she saw them in a slightly different fashion than the apes and Timelords. 

Bloodwine soon left Vastra pleasantly warmed through, and she lounged a bit more in her comfortable seat than she generally would have in public. 

They were discussing the Doctor now, laughing back and forth with an ease Vastra had never thought to find again. She laughed with the Doctor, but this was different. It was the knowing glances and amused anecdotes of a shared love. Their Doctor, though it meant vastly different things to each. 

“I am glad you are traveling with him,” River said abruptly. “That it was you and not...not someone else.”

“Not someone who you must compete with,” the Silurian retorted mildly, suddenly uncomfortable.

“Someone who is able to love him as he needs, not as he wants,” River clarified softly. “Your link makes you very rare and very precious to him.”

“The link saved me more than it did him.”

“It also forced him to be honest, which he often is not.”

“I know.”

“So thank you, for traveling with him.” Taking a drink. “May you have many more years together.”

“As to that...” Guilty look. 

“Oh no. What has he done?”

“Nothing. This is not about him. It is about me.” Truly uncomfortable now. “Do you recall a planet where the Doctor saved you...but at a very high cost?”

“You mean the one with the forests and one huge river?”

“Yes.”

“I do. It was about responsibility.” Somber now. “Vastra-”

“I know you did not intend those words for me,” the Silurian interjected quickly. “That, however, does not mean they did not apply. I did something, River. Something I have become deeply ashamed of, and that I must try to atone for. Even if it means leaving him, I must try.”

“You’ve already decided.”

“I have.”

“Then this...”

“Not our last adventure, I hope. But like this? Probably.” Seriously. “Whenever my home is, you are always welcome, River.  _ Always _ .”

“Thank you sweetie. I will probably take you up on that eventually.”

“I hope so. I have a feeling my new venture is going to be...quite lovely.”

“There are good apes, Vastra. You will find some and make a new family.”

“More hope?”

“A promise that...that you can do this. That you will atone.”

“Thank you.”

“But tonight we are going to celebrate seven years of friendship. How charged is that perception filter.”

“Hm...around 90 percent?”

“Two to three days then.” Wide grin. “This, love, is going to be a blast.”

*Choose where and when they are at look up appropriate activities and things for that period. Art museum, concert, perhaps a movie. Several delicious meals, and a theme park. Needs to be a time period two women can be alone without comment. Stay at a hotel and share a bed every night. Cuddles!

The returned ten minutes after they left, exhausted but bull of joy. River hugged the Silurian had, and her companion returned the gesture as she rested her crests against rampant curls. 

“I am going to miss you.”

“And I you.”

“I do want to apologize for something.”

“What?”

“You are going to miss you.”

“And I you.”

“I do want to apologize for something.”

“What?”

“You are going to meet a younger me. I am going to, at times, be a bitch. I never apologized for that. So...I’m sorry.”

“You are forgiven.” Laughing.

“Scaley-sis, I’m....River. You’re here.” Wide grin. “Sleepover tonight?”

“No, I was just saying goodbye.”

“That sounds ominously final.”

“Could be, one never knows Doctor.”

“No one ever does.” Face blank.

“Goodbye, sweetie. And good luck.”

“To you too.”

“Doctor.”

“River.”

She leaves.

“Scaley-sis, is everything alright?”

“Doctor, we need to talk.”

-090-

The Doctor had listened as she explained. Had remained silent and attentive even as his face had turned to a mask at her request. Questions were asked afterwards, to which she answered to the best of her ability. And in the end, he accessed the archive, sitting with it on his hand as he accessed the relevant laws and case files. In the end, he looked at her, eyes full of betrayal and understanding and said, “I can’t.”

“You must,” she replied solemnly. “That, or I must awaken my people to ask judgement from them.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong-”

“Did I not? What have you spent the last seven years trying to show me, Doctor? That the apes are people, not animals. That their abilities are still growing, but someday their heights will surpass those of mine. That they are worth saving.” Dry chuckle. “You taught your lessons well, Doctor. If they are people, not animals, then what I did was  _ murder _ .”

“It was an accident.”

“It was no accident when I rent flesh from bone and spilled blood for the earth to drink. I intentionally caused those deaths.”

“You were enraged by things outside of your control.”

“Among the Timelords, would that excuse render one’s blame and guilt entirely wiped away?”

“I will not sentence you to death.”

“I am not asking you to. Unless the person in question committed a crime so heinous it could not be forgiven, death was not given as a judgement. That would be a waste.” Sighing. “I am admitting that the circumstances would be taken into account, Doctor, not that I am not deserving of judgement.”

The Doctor considers this. “A moment.” Picks up the Mind Bridge. Vastra waits 30 minutes. One hour. Two. He returns. “Judgements requested by the accused were deferred until the judge or jury were able to decide on a suitable retribution. 

“Yes.”

“Then I am deferring. I can’t think of how to do this right now, Vastra. It’s too...sudden.”

“I understand.”

“Will you wait for me to pass judgement.”

“If you promise that you will, one day, pass it.”

“I promise.”

“Well, then we’ll travel around some more and-”

“No.”

“No? Is there a rule somewhere that says you can't do more while you wait.”

“There is not. You were expected to continue to serve and obey in the community until a decision was reached.”

“So we’ll continue to travel so you can continue to learn and-”

“But I owe a debt that I need to be certain was paid.”

“To who?”

-090-

“I told you they were taken care of,” the Doctor grumbled as he landed the TARDIS. “The company had compensation for families who lost loved ones in accidents.”

“Then we will check to be certain, and if the families are cared for I will agree to return to traveling with you.”

“Is that a promise.”

“Yes.”

“Good. This should be a short stop, then.” Parks the TARDIS. “It’s a month after the accident. Shouldn’t be too hard to track down what we need and be on our way.”

The Doctor and his psychic paper made quick work of getting the information needed. Half and hour later they were heading to the first address. It was a flat among several others, tiny homes stacked together at the end of the city where respectability was a thin veneer. 

“Not the nicest end of town,” the Doctor admitted as he handed something to the cab driver. “But not the worst either.”

The rooms were on the fourth floor of the tenancy and if it was worn it was also clean. A harried looking woman answered the door, glaring with suspicion. 

Doctor gabble, flash the psychic paper. “Are you _____ _______, Lar’s wife?”

“Yes.” Cautious.

“Good. Are you....” Blah blah. 

“Ha! Yes, we’re getting the pittance, handful of coppers it is.”

“Handful of...”

“They didn’t tell you.? Inspector looked it over and said it was poor management, not an accident. Not an accident, they don’t have to pay. They’ve graciously agreed to still give us a portion of the promised money, ‘for the kiddies’ they says. Ho, makes them look like right angles, it does.” Sighing pause. “Mind you, every bit helps to keep skin and bone together. And at least it’s not as bad as what they did to poor Charlie’s widow. They blamed it on him, so she got naught but a boot for asking for her share. And her with three littles and another on the way.” More quietly. “Heard they lost the flat because of rent, and they moved in with her mother. You said you’re from some Widows and Orphans Committee? Then do some’at for her. She needs it.”

Vastra speaks quietly. “And you do not?”

“Oh, it will be tight.” Proudly stubborn. “But it’s only a year before Allen can leave school, and him able to write and read. He’ll get a job, and we’ll scrape by.” Turns to the Doctor. “But you can help Charlie’s widow?”

“Yes, if we can find her. Do you happen to know where...?”

“Somewhere by Whitechurch.”

“We can probably find her from there. Thank you, _____ ______, and our condolences for your loss. Vastra...?”

-090-

“This is easily fixed,” the Doctor said as they walked together on the narrow, twisting streets. “We’ll pop back twenty years or so, make a few changes in the back records, and Voila! Rich, dead uncles for all of them.”

“Doctor...”

“And perhaps pay a visit to Mr. _______ Incorporated. We’ll get the initial investment from him.” Dark grin. “I’d say he owes them at least that much.”

“Doctor...”

“Granted, could take a day or two to set it all up, make sure everything arrives just as it should.” Shrugging helplessly. “Ah, it’s alright though. A few short hops, some good old fashioned Robin Hood-ing, and we’ll be on our way. Alonse!”

“I cannot come.”

The Doctor stopped in his tracks, turning to face her. “Why? You promised me, Vastra. You promised.”

“They are not cared for, Doctor.”

“So we’re going to get them money. C’mon, Vastra, this isn’t rocket science.”

“And money is all they require?”

“Usually, yes.” Waving his hands about. “They aren’t children.”

“How long do the apes usually live?”

“In this time period? Hard to say. 50s are probably a safe guess.”

“None of the men I killed were old. Can you promise me the money will be enough to sustain their families for the twenty or more years I have stolen from their lives?”

“No. I can’t.”

“Then I can’t leave.” Cutting off further protests. “I can’t, Doctor. This is my duty, now.”

“Should I make it your judgement?”

“If you wish.”

“I do not wish. I don’t want any of this. You...you’re important to me, Vastra. You are family in a way I haven’t felt for  _ centuries _ .”

“I know.”

“And you are still going to leave-...leave the TARDIS and our adventures and...me.”

“Yes. If you feel you cannot help-”

“I will. I will help. I couldn’t...not just like that. And Mr. _______ still needs taking down a peg or two. Where are you going to stay, though? Without the perception filter, it won’t be safe, and the filter will only last a few days away from the TARDIS.”

“I have an idea about that, actually. It involves your friend Mister Henry Gordon Jago and his show.”

-090-

“This is not a good idea.” Hissed complaint.

“It is hiding in plain sight.” Hissed back. 

“Hello, I am Master Jago.” Pausing at the Doctor. “...have we met before?”

“...no?” 

“Right. And you and your companion are...?”

“I am the Doctor, and this is my sister.” Vastra lifts her veil.

“Great scott!”

“She wants a job.”

-090-

Vastra signed the contract, having received every one of her demands. Her pay was enough to be satisfactory, and she would have her own accommodations within the traveling show. She would not be required to perform in cold temperatures, but as the troupe generally wintered in Spain that should not be a concern. She was to become one of their new specialty acts, with the details of said act still in question. And she was to begin in one week.

“Ten years,” the Doctor said as though it were a curse. “You could have promised less.”

“It will give me time to consider my next move,” the Silurian replied mildly. “I cannot travel forever, but playing your ‘rich dead uncle’ ruse should be enough to buy me ten years of time. Come, we have some traveling to do.”

-090-

No one asked why Mr. _____ suddenly had a change of heart, he simply did. Conditions for his employees improved, and the widows and orphans fund doubled overnight. Five widows and their children, specifically, received their monies due and more. No rich dead uncles appeared, they were not needed. An impressive investment was still made 20 years in the past, and suddenly Vastra had a tidy nest egg to draw upon at need.

With the help of the Doctor, she located an honest solicitor and put into place the means of which the five families in question were to be watched. He clearly did not understand why a rich widow would wish such a thing, but promised to follow her instructions to the letter. They would communicate each month by post, and she had the schedule for her travels in hand that his letters would not go astray. 

It was quickly and neatly done, and before two long she and the Doctor were packing her things into a heavy sea chest purchased at a used dealer. 

“Vastra, please consider what you are doing,” the Doctor said as he watched from the seat at her tiny table. “I can’t leave a perception field projector with you, nor a universal translator. There is no way for them to remain charged, not with you traveling away from London. Once you enter the show, you will not be able to leave it again. There will be no other place of safety for you.”

“So little faith in your apes.” Mild teasing.

“There are good ones out there, but this age is not ready for you just yet. It’s...it’s too soon. If you stay here, you will likely never be among your people again.”

“I am willing to pay whatever price necessary to do my duty, Doctor.”

“You still haven’t asked me.”

“Asked you what?”

“If I would visit to keep you from going mad.”

“I didn’t need to ask. First, not doing so would be as likely to induce madness in you as in me.”

“Good old self-interest.”

“But second is because I know you are a good man, and that you care for me as I care for you.”

“You have too much faith in me.”

“You have too little in yourself.” Pressing her forehead to his.

The conversation became one of feelings and thoughts as much as words. Regret, sorrow and determination on hers. Heart, frustration and anger on his. He did not want her to go, but she would not be moved. 

“I will miss you terribly,” she told him as she withdrew gently from his mind.

“And I you.”

“I assume I will not see you for a year’s time?”

“Yeah, I’ve got a few things to do. Back in London in a year, then.”

-090-

The first year was hard. Her act was not difficult. She was billed as ‘the Amazing Lizard Lady’, and sat in a prim English dress with all the trappings sipping tea and eating raw meat. She did not speak, merely hissed menacingly from time to time. Cries of ‘make it do a trick’ were ignored, and Jago’s bully boys were good at keeping the crowds under control. 

The rest of the show was a bit more traditional. They had a bearded lady, a pair of conjoined brothers, and a woman born without arms. There were three midgets who claimed to be siblings, though the lizard lady doubted it, and a fire-eater who also juggled and swallowed swords. There was a man with no nose or eyes from a chemical accident, and an enormous male with skin the color of chocolate who stood nearly seven feet tall. 

But what truly surprised her the most was how like a family it felt, and one that she was obviously not a part of. That this was simply a means to an end for her did not make sense to them. She was different, like them, why not use that difference to set herself up for life? Performing was their entire existence, and under the right manager a ‘freak’ or ‘monster’ could do very well. 

When their arguments proved useless against her resolve, she was quietly but firmly shut out of their community and company. They were polite, especially after one bully-boy got a bit too free with his hands. But if she sat with a group eating it quickly dispersed, and questions were met with polite but short answers. She was not one of them. 

So the Silurian soldier retreated to her wagon, a tiny cubby hole with a cot and a stove to keep it warm. Straps held down her chest in the far corner, and she turned to the worlds within books. She began with what she considered the most basic of information to learn- languages. Spanish, she decided, would be first as they would winter there. The horse handler from there was happy enough to assist her each evening with pronunciation for a handful of coins. In half a year, she had moved on to Italian and French. The former there was no one in the small companion to assist her with, but two of the midgets were fluent in French and, again, happy to trade their time for a handful of coins when they weren’t performing. 

Add in the traveling, the performing. First molt in the wagon. The ‘carnival doctor’ in London (Indian man and his wife). 

Letters come every month from the solicitor. She is pleased with him thus far. 

And suddenly the Doctor is there.

He didn’t announce himself, he was just standing in front of her with that same sad look. “Enjoying yourself?” he asked, a tight smile on his face.

“Hardly,” she admitted, tongue flicking to taste the air. And smelled herself on him. Ah. 

“Then leave this and come with me.”

“No.”

“I had to ask.” Guilty grin.

“I know.”

Vastra left the show for two days, staying with the Doctor in the TARDIS. Hidden nearby, they spent hours linked as she shared with him the last year and he pretended he had not just jumped a year into the future to see her again that much sooner. 

“Spanish, French and Italian,” he teased as they laid in her old room, forehead together and arms linked. “Overachiever.”

“They do not really accept me,” she explained with a shrug. “It is easier to learn something new than sit alone doing nothing all day.”

“No physical training?”

“For an hour or two, yes, but I must be careful. These apes can be surprisingly perceptive at the most awkward of times.”

“Almost been caught sneaking about?”

“Only once or twice.” Dismissive snort. “They are still only apes.”

“None of them have grown on you yet?”

“I told you, they do not see me as one of them.”

“And you’re sure.”

“I am.”

-090-

Vastra returned to find several of the females in the troupe incessantly curious about her male visitor and where she had disappeared to. 

“He is my brother,” was all she would reply. “And he took me home for a bit.”

“Your brother,” ______ the _______ said skeptically. “Not much of a family resemblance.

“And you look like all of your family.”

“I have a few cousins like me. You?”

“Sisters,” the Silurian admitted, surprised at the exchange.

“They performing?”

“They are all dead.”

The other performers still did not accept her, but things changed for the better after all.

The second year, as a result, was slightly less lonely. A few of the others began to participate in her language lessons of an evening, and when it was discovered she hoarded books the few others who did the same began to offer to make trades. She found a surprisingly salient philosopher in their enormous strong man, and the midget who did not speak French was extremely well-learned in poetry and plays.

Her ability to draw was another bridge between herself and the other performers. It began as a gift for _______’s wife, who kindly made her tea every morning. It ended as a side business providing portraits for many of those she traveled with. 

Still, there was a distance there. She was not truly ‘one of them’, and it showed in the little things.

Second molt passes well.

And suddenly the Doctor was before her again, eyes still sad but a smile on his face as he gave her a brief but enthusiastic hug. And once more, she could smell herself on him. He had hoped forward again, rather than face a year alone. 

A bag was packed, and she left for two days with him as before.

“German, Welsh and Gaelic this time,” the Doctor observed after laying with their foreheads together for a time. “Is there anything you can’t do? Aside from making tea, that is.”

“Yes,” she hissed in annoyance. “I am apparently rubbish as the thing you call sewing. Also crochet and knitting.” Grumbling to herself. “Ridiculous domestic tasks.”

“What, one of the women decided you should learn?”

“I thought keeping myself properly attired would be less expensive if I made or repaired them myself.”

“Very ambitious.”

“It was an utter disaster.”

He laughed, but it was not unkind.

“Have you seen River?” she asked, though she already knew the answer.

“No. Been a bit busy.”

“Liar.”

“I really haven’t seen her.”

“I meant about being busy.”

“I keep hoping you’ll change your mind. Pull a Donna on me.”

“I am nothing like her. Except the platonic relationship.”

“Right.”

“And I will not change my mind.”

“Right.” Resigned.

“You are still going to jump ahead aren’t you?”

“I have nothing else better so do so....yes.”

“Insufferable ape.”

“Daft old lizard.” Quiet pause. “I still miss you, Scaley-sis.”

“And I miss you, Doctor.”

-090-

The third and fourth years brought about even greater changes. Vastra was fairly certain her pay, which was based on the number of tickets sold, was being short changed. The higher levers of math that involved more symbols than numbers were gibberish, but something as simple as keeping the books? Child’s play. Her investigation uncovered the man of business as a master embezzler, and she presented her findings to Jago. The man was fired, and she offered his position. Her honesty may have a touch of brutality in it, but it was unquestionable. The position came with a bigger wago, to fit her desk and the chests that held the ledgers and coin. The added responsibility cut into her time to learn of ape physiology, her latest project, but was a welcome distraction at times. Numbers of this sort were refreshingly uncomplicated, and there was something pleasant about lining up the rows and making them balance out neatly at the end.

The show gained popularity, and additional acts were added in the line of exotic animals and their trainers. Three tigers in cages on wheels joined them, and their handler _____ ______. Vastra did not like the man, he was proud and swaggering and thought himself quite debonair. He tried none of his tricks with the show folk, he was not stupid enough to anger the people he traveled with. Which, the Silurian supposed, made him of about average intelligence for an ape. But it seemed whenever they stopped he soon had a village girl or two following after him admiringly. It set wrong with the lizard lady, and she avoided his company whenever possible. 

But perhaps what she disliked the most was how he treated the creatures in his care. Tigers, apes and ________ alike were kept barely fed. To keep them subdued, he claimed, for his tricks. Their cages were constantly filthy, and they stunk more than any true wild animal would. It was cruel, and it was wrong,a nd worst of all everyone seemed determined to do nothing about it.

Jago, at least, had the grace to look embarrassed when she confront him about it. 

“The kiddies want the tigers and apes,” he explained uncomfortably. “And God knows I can’t afford to buy the beasts for what he’ll ask and afford their feed and maintenance. For now, unless he gives me a reason, he stays.”

Vastra had had the foresight to only verbalize her thoughts with Jago. Especially as, one by one, the apes and monkeys began to escape.

______ blamed everyone. Jealous performers. Careless horse-handlers, sneaking children, ape thieves. When the last one disappeared, however, he was informed that his share of the profits would decrease. 

“You had three wagons of animals. Now you have one.”

“But I-!”

“And perhaps no more monkeys and apes would be best. They seem...quite crafty.”

Vastra felt slightly bad about eating the caged creatures. It wasn’t really a hunt when they were caged, and the meat had been tough and stringy. Still, she could not in good conscience set them free, and their deaths had been quick and clean. And baffling, as the cage was always relocked when she was through. 

The tigers, however, were a problem. She simply could not ingest that much flesh in one sitting, and the predators were too large to hide and too dangerous to set free. She mulled it over for weeks, unable to reach a decision. Thankfully, she did not have to. 

It made sense. If _____ could teach the tigers tricks, he would be a major performer again. Which would mean his pay would go back up. He began with the females, and they seemed compliant enough. Then he brought out the male. 

The beast was chained to the wagon, and very hungry. _____ only turned his back for a moment, but it was enough. 

The beasts were donated to the Queen’s menagerie (too dangerous for travel on the road) and that was the end of that.

The Doctor visited twice more, and each time she knew the truth. While for her it had been a year, for him it had been hours or less. He still held hope that she would change her mind. She did not. 

The fifth year passed without incident. She had moved from medical texts to religious texts, devouring whole books to be stored in the mind archive. The Muslim brothers who had joined the year before did not understand why she wished to ask questions about the Quran. But compliments on the beauty of its poetry and the sentiment of its words made both stand a bit taller with pride. 

Her roles among the rest had somehow morphed from the one on the fringes to the one who stood aloof. If help was needed and she was able to give it she would. Asking her opinion was done with caution, for she wielded truth like a sword. But a word of praise given was a high honor, for from her it was genuine. There were things, of course, that she could not do. Horses and she were like oil and water, and anything involving cooking was nearly as bad. The children did not seem to know what to do with her, or she them. And then there was the matter of the raw meat. She never ate it where anyone could see, sticking to the fruits and vegetables that were safe for her to consume in public, but the fact was still known. It made them wary of her, wary of what that might mean. 

The Doctor’s visit held two novelties this year. The first was that they went to check on her five families. The solicitor had been quick to assure her that blah blah blah blah blah. All is in order. They spend the night in the TARDIS linked, and return a bit early the next day. It’s a party. 

Singing, dancing, music and food. Vastra is about to leave, but the Doctor wants to dance. 

He pulls her along for one round, then lets her go to dance with someone else. Three or four songs pass, he dances with Vastra again. She declines all other offers (rare though they are). She does agree to one dance with Jago, just because. It makes her feel a bit more ‘human’ to the rest. And now half the females are bewitched by the doctor. Yikes! He scarpers, and she retires alone. 

The sixth, seventh and eighth year passed without incident. There were rumors of a man, _____ ______, writing against their way of life but Jago paid it no mind. Their show was a good one, and people were always going to pay to see a good show. They weren’t rich, they never would be. But they were comfortable, and most had savings to retire on eventually. If anyone bitten by the show bug ever truly retired. 

Several women in the troupe were now much more interested in the green performer’s mysterious brother. Finding out he had a suitor discouraged some, but not all, and she got used to the increased visitors outside her wagon for a few weeks before and after his visit. 

Her book collection now spanned three trunks, and included a variety of everything under the sun. Histories, scientific texts, philosophical treatises and biology annuls sat cheek by jowl in the packed cases. Along with her previous language acquisitions, she had included Japanese and Cantonese. The performers were a pair of contortionists claimed to be sisters, but Vastra had seen them in the dark doing very unsisterly things. Given them climate towards same-gender lovers, she kept her accidental observations to herself. 

The Doctor’s visit at the end of that eighth year marked another visit into London. The families were checked on and each proved to still be keeping afloat. The Doctor comments about, “Almost like they don’t even need you.” She ignores him. 

There was dancing again when they returned, as there always seemed to be now following her short night away. The Doctor took her about the circle first before tending to the rest of the women in the troupe. A seat was provided for her when her turn was done, and a mug of tea brought for her to sip. She watches until something being said catches her ear. 

“A man who can dance that long, can you imagine what he might be like as...?”

The implication made her nearly spit her tea out with laughter. The startled women looked at her in surprise, and she waved their concern away lightly. 

“Sorry, ma’am, I know he’s your brother but...”

“That’s not it,” Vastra assured her, still chuckling. “There is...another woman with interest in him. She said something similar, only I did not understand until now.”

“Then...he is already promised to....?”

“I do not know.”

“He’s your brother, how do you not know?”

“He is complicated.” Sighing. “And full of so many sorrows.”

“Did someone say my name?” Appearing beside her. “My ears are burning. Ready for another turn, Scaley-sis?”

“You shouldn’t make fun of her skin condition, sir. It’s not her fault.”

“And so I shouldn’t. You are too nice to me, Vastra, letting me get away with that.” Winks.

“And that is my fault, is it?”

“Obviously.” Cheeky grin. She goes to dance with him.

It was in the ninth year of her travels with the troupe that things began to go south. Medicine and science had made several startling leaps forward in the past decade, many of which, of course, were incorrect. 

The first time a local newspaper published an article about the ‘disease-filled performing troupes’ at their arrival, Vastra laughed. Even apes could not be so stupid as to believe that nonsense.

A half a year later she was no longer laughing. Acts began to leave, slipping away one by one by one as it became clear the public opinion was turning against the strange and the weird. America, they each said as they packed their bags to leave. There’s opportunities in America. The boat fare is expensive, but we’ll make due. Lots of traveling shows there, all making good coin. Find the right manager, set up the right act, and Bob’s your uncle!

The Silurian never had a reply, but soon found herself in a troupe where being odd or out of place suddenly put her in the minority. 

“Vastra,” Jago said one evening after a particularly low attended performance. “I’ve been thinking.”

“That I should stop my act,” she cut in to spare him the embarrassment. “And I agree.”

“I would still like you to stay, of course,” he went on quickly. “To keep the books. I haven’t anyone to replace you.”

“Will this affect my pay?”   
  


“No, no. You’ve been a loyal performer, and an honest money manager.” Weak smile. “Though...perhaps it would be wise to start to hide your face.”

“I understand.”

“Thank you.”

The Doctor visited the very next week, and would have thought he was in the wrong place had his connection not taken him directly to Vastra. She was in her wagon, alone, as had become her habit since most of the original ‘freaks’ had left the show. 

“Oh, Scaley-sis,” he said as he sat next to her on the bed. “What happened?”

“Apes,” she replied softly, a dry chuckle escaping her thin lips. “I had some hope, you know. I was not one of them, but they let me live in peace. They...accepted me, after a fashion. And in only five or six years, I thought, what if there were two or three more? Just a few to start? We could change the show from ‘The Lizard Woman’ to an introduction to Silurians. Prepare the apes to awaken more. Until it was no more unusual to see a scaled visage than one of skin.” Another laugh, this one mirthless. “I did not see, perhaps because I did not wish to. The only one who accepted me as a person were those who were also ‘freaks’.”

“I’m so sorry.” Arm around her shoulders. “You can still leave. Are you even still able to perform?”

“No, but I keep the books for the show,” she replied absently with a shrug. “It gives me a great deal more time for my studies.”

“Please don’t ask me to leave you like this.”

“I signed a contract, Doctor, and gave my word. It is only one more year.” Holding up a hand to silence his protests. “Let us speak of something else.”

“Well, as it happens, I do have a present for you.” Takes a ‘hair clip’ from his pocket. “It’s a mini-perception field.” Picking up a lace veil and handing them to her. “Use it with a veil obscuring your face and the charge should last for weeks.”

“That still will not last until your next visit.”

“It will if you ration it out. This field, unlike the one you were using, will only engage when you wish it to. It’s got a mind link to it, so you can control all sorts of variables with it.”

“Very clever,” Pointed look.

“Oh, no I didn’t make this. But the blue fellow who acquired it for me owed me some favors and was very happy to do so.”

“Thank you.” Forehead press.

“Well, let’s be off to the TARDIS then. I happened upon a bottle of bloodwine for you and got some champagne for me. We’ll get a bit sloshed, link for a bit, and then have a snooze. Nothin’ better when you’re feelin’ down.”

“If you say so, Doctor.”

“Doctor’s orders.” Silly grin. She affixes the veil, tells Jago she is leaving and goes. 

The following winter Vastra found herself in Spain, managing the money behind the scenes and still mostly hiding in her wago all the time. The hue and cry against the strange and the abnormal had truly reached its peak, and more than one traveling show had been attacked by mobs for harboring ‘persons of disease and ill-fortune’. Those who hadn’t fled the country had gone to ground, and some who hadn’t gone quickly enough were killed. 

Overall, though, they were doing decently enough. She was balancing the columns from their nights spent in ______ when a knocking came at her wagon door. 

“Enter,” she said after fixing the veil to her head. 

“Vastra,” Jago said as he entered the small space. “May I?”

“Please, sit.”

“I am afraid I have some news.” Clearing his throat awkwardly. “I sold the show, and am returning to England at the first opportunity available.”

“Oh.”

“You are out of a job as a result, I’m afraid. “The new owner was not keen on a woman bookkeeper. I thought perhaps we might travel together, on my dime, as I have voided our contract six months early.”

“That is most generous.” A bit stunned. 

“I will need to stay through the week, to secure traveling accommodations for us and to finish signing the paperwork. Is that acceptable or...?”

“It is. Thank you.”

“Very good, very good...” Awkward. “Well, I am sure you can be trusted to see everything is put right before handing it all over.” Rises to leave.

“Goodday.”

“Goodday.”

-090-

Only three other performers chose to return to England with them. _______ and ________, the asian ‘sisters’, and _________ the strongman. The journey was miserable, the boat rocked with winter storms the entire time. It was an exhausted Vastra who landed on the shores of England, cold and wet and increasingly annoyed.

Leaves most of her things with Jago, who has purchased a theatre. Promises to hold them until she comes back for them. Says goodbye to the ‘sisters’. 

Her first order of business, she decided was a hot meal. She had coin enough for a whole pig or a sheep, but it would be cold by the time it got to her. Hot food meant something made by apes, but not all of it was awful. Some of it even crept towards tasty, when they didn’t drown it in salt or grease. An Inn or Eating House would be out of the question, but she could purchase something from a street vendor, eat in an alley and buy a cup of swill to sit by a fire somewhere while she tried to think of a plan. 

Thus, Vastra found herself in the Gin Palace two hours later, tucked in a corner by the fire with a belly of queasily half-full and the damp chill of sea finally withdrawing from her bones. It was noisy around her, but she was left in peace to sit and stare at her drink.

There were not many options left to her, she realized as she listened to the dull roar with half an ear. She had coin enough for a year or two, she thought, without touching the monies kept for the five families she sponsored. But where would she stay? She needed a place that was safe and secure, big enough for her accumulated belongings but not so large that it looked odd for her to live alone and keep to herself. The prejudices against the weird and the strange were still strong in the city, and she had no desire to flee the mob. 

A shout broke her train of thought, and a moment later a body broke her table. The tepid ale flew everywhere, and instinct had her on her feet and out of arm’s reach before a second body crashed into the first. There were shouts of encouragement, no, and curses for drinks spilled. Rage flooded the soldier for a moment. Stinking apes!!

Her gloved hands shot out, seizing each by the collar. Aware of the others watching, she ran the pairs heads together with a satisfactory crack. Legs buckling beneath them, she muscled the pair through the crowd and tossed both headlong into the gutter. It was not enough, not nearly, to quell the rage inside but it was the limit of what she could accomplish for the moment.

“That were neatly done,” a voice said behind her. “Want a job?”

Vastra turned around to find the proprietress standing behind her, arms crossed over her considerable bosom. Or at least Vastra hoped that was her bosom. 

“How much?” she asked, not bothering to lower her voice.

“Oh, a Tom are ye?” Eyeing her closer. “Got no quarrel with that if yer able t’do that again. ______ a week to throw brawlers and trouble out the door most of each night. Got a room you c’n have too, if ye need a place t’stay.”

“Done.”

“No drinkin’ on a job.”

“Can you make a decent cup of tea?”

“It’ll be in a mug.”

“Wash it first.”

“Aye.”

They shake hands.

-090-

The work meant Vastra was not dipping into her savings just yet. Her employer and landlady (she assumed from her title and bosom) seemed to have mixed feelings about her. On pay day she was positively gleeful to have an employee for so little, and on rent day she was always annoyed to remember Vastra’s rent was free. 

The attic garret she inhabited was the largest room the gin palace boasted. It was also the most poorly furnished. Whoever the previous occupant had been, they had taken pains to block every crack in the walls for which she was grateful. They had also taken every stick of furniture not nailed down. She had a tiny stove, a bed, and the table that had been smashed her first night of work. If she could fix it, that was. She did, though her brother _______ would have twisted her scales for such shoddy work. It sufficed, though, and her chests were delivered from Jago’s theatre. 

The other workers quickly decided it was best to leave ‘him’ alone. ‘He’ did not speak to them, but would silently answer any polite requests for help if ‘he’ were able to give it. Impolite requests were ignored, or occasionally answered in a glare. 

Only once was she quired to answer in violence. 

The ______ had been pushing at her verbally for days, and finally launched a bucket at her back one night. She had turned, all fluid grace, seized the front of his coat and slammed his shoulders against the wall, his feet dangling a good six inches from the ground. He had struggled, but she had moved not a hair, simply glaring at him from the depths of her hood.

“No more,” she had hissed, and he had nodded frantically. 

Letting go, his boots had thumped to the floor as she had stalked back to her attic room. Anger still burned in her gut, though, and it was with vindictive pleasure that she later threw one rowdy drunk out the door. The owner’s nod of approval had only stoked her anger and disgust all the more. 

Stinking apes, little better than animals they used and abused. The best she had seen were clearly the exception to the rule, the rest were scrabbling rats slinking through the dark. Approving her violence against one of her customers! Idiots who don’t know when to leave well enough alone and who thrive on each other’s misery and pain. The purpose of this establishment was the exploitation of an addiction caused by the caustic swill known as ‘gin’. The only person who actually benefited from it was the owner, and she seemed perfectly at ease letting her patrons destroy their livers and brains one swallow at a time. Who cared if they died? Someone else would always take their place.

And it seemed each day was designed to drag her already low opinion lower. The big beat on the small, and the rich stole from the poor. Children starved on the streets, and their spiritual leaders preached generosity and a great many other things on corners while doing nothing of actual use or worth. Apes murdered apes for little more than a wrong look or the clothes on their back, and those in charge did little more than drag the body away for disposal and tut their way about saying, “What a shame, what a shame.”

She began to visit her sister’s grave, as she thought of it, each week. At first it had brought peace, but as time had progressed it only began to drive home the rage that now was harder to ignore building in her chest. Vastra felt as though she might simply combust, the heat of it seering her away from the inside out in a single, soaring sweep. If it took some of the worst apes along as well she thought it might be a suitable way to go. 

Add in discovering the solicitor’s assistant is stealing her money.

-090-

The Doctor struggled against the TARDIS, working the controls to no avail. The craft landed with an ungracious thump, spilling him to the floor as he tried to figure out what he had gone wrong. He had just left Vastra, and though he’d been worried he had jumped forward once again to meet her in a year’s time. She would need help, figuring out what came next whatever she thought. There was still a spark of hope she may yet come to her senses. Faint but persistent. The solicitor could handle whatever came up, and he need not be alone. She was special, like him a creature apart from everyone else around them. Separated from her own kind by an insurmountable gap. She understood his pain, and he understood hers. 

But something had gone wrong, something he had yet to understand. The controls had gone dead in his hands, refusing to respond as they should. Scrambling to his feet, the thin man checked the screens. London, England. Well, at least it got that part right. Checking the date, he groaned.

“I’m weeks early!” he muttered to himself as he double checked it all. “Months! Must’ve put something in wrong...” 

The doors to the outside opened.

No one walks in, and the Doctor stares at them in shock. He didn’t even snap his fingers this time. Walking over, he steps out for a moment and realizes Vastra is in the city and  _ needs him now.  _

He ran.

The TARDIS closed her doors behind him, and sighed in relief. 

Finally.

-090-

Monday and Tuesday were hers to do with as she pleased, and the Silurian often stalked the back streets and alleyways after dark, hoping one of the apes would be stupid enough to challenge her. Thieves and robbers did not survive long if they could not sense dangerous prey. Vastra was not dangerous prey, she was simply danger, and at the shadow of her hooded figure those who stalked the alleys and streets simply melted away to find an easier, safer mark.

Still, wandering the endless maze of darkness became a sort of waking meditation. Her boots slopped through filth unknown and she shielded her nose and tongue from the worst of the stench. Ha, and they wondered why so many of them sickened and died. It wasn’t even that they lacked the ability to provide proper sanitation for the city. No, that technology had long since been discovered. It was simply that those in charge of the wealth chose to not ensure their city was properly equipped with the necessary functions so none need live in filth. The strong preyed on the weak and the weak turned on each other rather than face their aggressors. Their tyrants and lords.

She hated them. Not as individuals, but as a species she could no longer weigh the good of their accomplishments against the bad of everything else. And she didn’t know what to do about it anymore.

-090-

The Doctor was no longer running, but he was hurrying through the back alleys and side streets of Lond alone. Vastra was out here, somewhere, and she needed him. Of course, if it were the other way around, she would have had no trouble at all pinpointing his location using their bond. Still, she was out here and needed him so he would wander around and trust to luck to bring them together. It usually worked. 

-090-

She was cold. Honestly, she could hardly remember what it was like anymore, warmth. Or a full belly. Or shoes and clothes without holes. Peony had been missing from her corner selling matches, so she’d taken it early. It was a good corner, and the coins in her pocket promised if not a full belly then at least a reprieve from hunger for at least a few days. She had no particular place to stay tonight, but there were a few possibilities. And she was open to happenstance. Happenstand had landed almost a whole roast ham in her lap, and another had shown her a cellar door left ajar in a particularly heavy snow. 

It wasn’t quite luck. With the ham, she’d had to run quick before the owner realized she’d caught the joint of meat. And in the case of the cellar, being out of the snow hadn’t kept her from shivering all night in her damp clothes. It was a chance, and how well it turned out was what you made of it. 

A step behind her made her turn to see four shapes materialize out of the dark.

Happenstance wasn’t always in your favor.

She ran.

-090-

The Doctor nearly stumbled into the rear-most thug, brushing by him almost casually as he scanned the scene and quickly reached a conclusion. 

“There you are!” he said, weaving his way between the middle two. “Excuse me, pardon me. Where have you been, young lady? I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Dinner is past, but there's still bound to be something to eat. Come along.”

Has the girl by the arm and is hustling her away down the alley before anyone can reply.

A few steps away, one of the men yells for him to stop. 

“Run!”

-090-

Vastra paused as a lance of pure fear and adrenaline speared her through the middle. Only it was not  _ her _ fear and adrenaline.

“Doctor!” she gasped, mind frantically trying to locate her troublesome sibling through the shock of his unchecked outpouring of emotions. But how had he-? And when-?

It did not matter, she decided as she got a fix on him.

She ran.

-090-

“Vastraaa!” the odd man yelled, still yanking her along in a mad dash for freedom. He was leading but it was clear to her he had no idea where he was or where to go. They had passed more than one possible opportunity for safety, and the fear that had given her feet wings was fading away to numb exhaustion. The pounding steps were getting closer, it wouldn’t be long now.

Abruptly, she found herself pressed against the brick wall as a dark shadow shot past them from the opposite direction. 

“C’mon,” her strange rescuer said, pulling her down another alley as a scream rent the air behind them. “Not my preferred method of doing things, but you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth...”

A second scream rang out, and just as abruptly cut off. She started to look back, but he stopped her.

“Best not to,” he advised with a grimace. “The way she feels...it’s probably messy.”

“She?”

“My sister.”

“Your-?” Shocked. You left your sister to face four Tong thugs  _ alone _ ?”

“I know. The odds weren’t good-”

“Damn straight.”

“-for them,” he finished glumly. “Especially with her this wound up. Not that I know why...say, are you hungry?”

Her stomach growls audibly.

“Right. Let’s get some food and find a place to wait nearby for her to finish up. Shouldn’t be long now.”

She’s suddenly wary, and the Doctor notices. He takes a careful half step back.

“I didn’t introduce myself,” he said, smiling carefully as he extended one hand. “I’m the Doctor.”

“Doctor who?”

“Just ‘the Doctor. And you are?”

Long pause. “Jenny. M’name’s Jenny.” Carefully shakes his hand.

“Right, Jenny, a pleasure to meet you. Those men won’t bother you or anyone else ever again. On that you have my word. Is there somewhere you’re supposed to be? Someone waiting for you who might be worried?” She doesn’t reply, but takes a step away from him. “Right. I’m going to get food, sit out on a bench, and eat it. You can join me or you can go. It’s your choice. And it’s my treat.”

“So, out on the street where everyone c’n see?”

“Yes.”

“An’ no funny business?”

Swallows his quip. “No, no funny business.”

“A’right then.”

She motions for him to lead the way and he does. She stays slightly behind and far enough away to make grabbing her hard. He does as promised, finding a road and procuring meat pies and hot peas from vendors outside a tavern. They sit on a bench and eat, her quickly stuffing her face.

“So you’re a match girl, then?”

“It’s a job.”

“Looking for another?” She tenses. “Not for me, I don’t need any help. But-”

-090-

The Doctor felt his sister suddenly behind him, leaning over the bench and clearly displeased. 

“What in all nine hells were you  _ thinking _ ?!” she hissed, thrusting her face into his aggressively. “You  _ idiot _ ! You  _ fool _ ! By the goddess, if you had not been nearby...”

“I would have thought of something.” Getting up. “I came because-...well, that’s not important. What’s important is why  _ you’re _ here. You should still be with the show-”

She snorts.

“Something happened?”

“Jago sold the show in Spain. He offered anyone who wished to leave passage back to England. He arrived two months ago.”

“Oh, Vastra...what have you been doing? Where are you staying?”

“I was offered employment at the Gin Palace.”

“Doing what?”

“Keeping the peace.”

“A  _ bouncer?! _ You’re working as a  **_bloody bouncer_ ** **?!** ”

“It suffices to meet my needs.”

“You have your show earnings  _ and _ the trust account, you don’t  _ need _ ...”   
  


“That money is not to be used without need.”

“Leave this place, Vastra. Come back to the TARDIS with me. The solicitor-”

“Is happy to let his assistant rob me blind because his father is something important.”

“What did you do?”

“I took care of it.”

“Who is looking after the families, then?”

“I have not gotten that far in fixing things.”

“Vastra...” Rubbing his face. “You are so much better than this.”

“You are one to talk.”

“Can you believe her?” To Jenny.

“Why is the ape still here?”

“I invited her.”

“Going to make her your new pet, are you?”

“She’s not an animal, she is a person.”

“How can you tell it is a ‘she’?”

“She has a name.” Jenny, getting annoyed.

“The ape speaks!”

“I’m not an ape!”

“Oh, yes you are. You are closer to it than you think. Your kind are hardly more than animals with a veneer of civilization.”

“Oh? And what does that make you?”

A gloved hand seized the scarf that covered the face beneath the hood, ripping it away in one clean motion.

“ _ Not an ape _ .” Hissed in her face, Jenny freezes but holds her ground. “Go on, scream. Shout, Monster! It is the only reaction your kind seems capable of.” Challenge.

Hotly, rising to the challenge. “You aren’t a monster, but you are a bully!”

“She’s right, scaley sis.” Doctor, disappointed.

Slowly Vastra stands. The Doctor gently takes her arm, and she is pulled along with him. 

“Why are you so unhappy?”

“Because I must stay. It is my duty, but...how can you defend them, Doctor? The best of them are cast aside as trash, and the rest live their entire lives purposefully blind to the needs around them. I am heart sick from watching those who have take from those who do not and those who protect using their power for the few rather than the many. I do not know what to do.”

“Oh, Vastra.” Hugging her, pressing his forehead to hers. “I wish I could convince you not to stay.”

“I wish you could too.” Mirthless laugh. “But then I would not be me.”

“No, you would not.” Chuckling softly, then sobering up. “I think...I think part of it is what you’re doing. And where you live. It brings out the worst in people, and makes it hard to see the good.”

“And what should I do about that, Doctor?” Taking a half-step back to meet his eyes. “They will not employ me without seeing my face, and to not work or live in better conditions means dipping into funds that may be needed in the future.”

“I don’t know,” he admitted with a shrug. “But I have some ideas. To start with: stop worrying about the money.”

“But Doctor, I-”

“No. If the fund runs out, and you can’t get more I will provide it.”

“What else?”

He takes a lack of argument as acceptance. “You need help, someone who knows the city and can help you find something better. Someone resourceful and clever and a bloody good runner. Someone who, I suspect, needs you as much as you need them.” Turns to look at the girl, who is still eating as she watches.

“You must be joking.”

“She’s perfect, Vastra.”

“It’s a child. An  _ ape _ child at that!”

“ _ She _ ’ _ s _ living on the streets as a match girl. Anyone who can do that successfully for more than a week is worth having around.”

“I do not understand what any of that means.”

“It means that ‘child’ has survived things that would put most adults to shame. You think you don’t have options? Trust me, hers are worse. But, if she comes to work for you in two years if she wants to leave you can write a reference. One that will open more opportunities for her than she would have otherwise had.”

“And helping it is important because...?”

“Because it is the right thing to do. Does there need to be another reason?”

Gazes lock. “No, there’s doesn’t.”

-090-

Jenny sat up as the pair approached, both giving her odd looks. The man sauntered with easy confidence, his companion all cautious uncertainty. He cleared his throat when no one immediately spoke up, giving her a pointed look.

Hissing in annoyance, the...female (who was very tall, she realized) settled her arms behind her back and sighed. “The Doctor believes you and I may be of use to each other. He implied that a place to live and some employment would benefit you greatly.”

“Might,” Jenny agreed cautiously. “What’s the job?”

“You would be my...assistant. My helper.”

“Doing what?”

Vastra looks to the Doctor.

“Look, she’s...not from around here is probably the easiest way to say it. If you take the job, you can pester her for details later. She needs help blending in, and finding a better place to live and something worthwhile to do with her time. Something to help the people of the city. To everyone else you’ll look like her maid, but really you’ll be more like a...companion.” Giving Vastra a proud look. 

“Companion,” Distrustful look.

“Oh, not like that. Like she said, an assistant. Or helper.”

“Right. What’s the catch?”

“The only one I can see is the current feelings towards ‘abnormalities.” Vastra, quietly. “I take pains to hide myself, but I cannot promise I will always be successful. If a mob were to come after me, I cannot promise you would be safe.” She’s being serious.

Happenstance.

“Alright, when can I start?”

“Tonight. Vastra, go get her settled at your place. I’ll meet you at the TARDIS when you’re through. It might be early, but I think you need it.”

“I probably do.” Looking at Jenny. “Do you have enough food hidden in your pockets to last two or three days? I should not be absent that long, but in the event that I am I will not need to worry that you have not enough food.”

Jenny stared at her a moment, blank faced, then glances to the Doctor and back again. “How could you tell?” Suspicious.

“I could smell it.”

“Oi, now. What’s going’ on here?” Policeman sauntering up. Jenny recognizes him. “These gentlemen botherin’ you miss?”

“No, Officer,” she said quickly. “Just my Uncles. Might have found me some work.”

“Your Uncles, eh?” Wary. “Why’s he hiding’ his face?” Reaches out.

“Oi!” Hopping up between them. “Nor that it’s yours to know, but he’s got a scar. Has he done something wrong?”

“N-no-”

“Then leave him be!”

“Alright, alright. No need to _____ ______.”

“We’d best move along then.” The Doctor. “Evenin’, Officer.”

“You too, sir. You too.”

They leave quickly.

“Maybe you will be useful at that.” Vastra, under her breath. “That was neatly done.”

“Yes m-...sir.”

“Ok, a few notes for you before I go,” the Doctor said as he leaned close to Jenny. “She isn’t allowed to make tea, make sure she eats her vegetables, and help her learn about humans. She needs every bit she can get.”

“I...ok.”

“Meet you at the TARDIS, sis?”

“I will be there soon.”

“Jenny, nice to meet you. MIght be a bit before I pop in again, but I’m sure everything will work out fine. Chin up, eh?” He’s off.”

“He hates saying goodbye.” Vastra, almost to herself.

“Is he really your brother?”

“ The simplest answer is yes.”

“Which means there’s more.”

“We do not have time for more. When I return, though, I promise to answer whatever questions you may have.”

“Fair enough.”

Vastra has to shorten her stride a bit to let the ‘girl’ keep up. Eventually they reach the Gin Palace, and enter from the back. As luck (or not) would have it, the owner is there.

“Tom.” Smoking her pipe. 

“I will be gone for a day or two. Three at the most. This...girl is my assistant. She will be staying in my room until I return.”

“As you’re on tomorrow night for work, no you won’t be.” Frowning. “And another living in your room will cost extra. You don’t make enough to-”

“I will be absent,” Vastra repeated, bending towards the woman so she loomed over her. “And you will do nothing about it. Nor will you charge me extra. I am the only employee you have that does not drink as much as I earn, and actually comes to work when I am supposed to. If you cannot accept this, tell me now and I will pack my things and go tonight. Otherwise, the girl stays, at no charge, and she is to be left alone until my return. To find otherwise upon my return would make me very  _ displeased. Am I being clear enough for you now? _

The lady takes a step back, trying to look unimpressed and failing. “Fine.” Shortly. “But I’m deducting the missed time from your wages.”

“You are too kind.” Turning to leave.

Glancing at Jenny, sneering. “A tom for Tom.”

Stalks back. “I have endured what I am assuming is an insult from you because I do not know what it means and I do not care. But you will leave the child alone, yes?”

“Fine, yes.” Retreating further. “No need to be nasty about it. No one will bother the girl if she keeps to herself. I’ll see to it.”

“My thanks, ______.” Dryly.

Jenny drops a hasty curtsy and heads after Vastra.

She finds the room a surprising mix of neat and dirty. The floor is filthy, but everything is neatly put away. The dishes are washed and stacked, but the bedding clearly needs an airing out. The window is completely grimed over. Well, at least she won’t be bored tomorrow.

“Use what you need.” Vastra motions around. “Here is some money if you need to purchase anything.” She drops some coins on the table from her pocket. Some are stained in blood. Jenny tries not to think about whose. “Including the bed. It is not particularly comfortable, but is free of pests. The black chest and brown locked, leave them alone. The red and blue hold books. You may read them, if you are careful.” *Add in that she has put together water that is safe for everyday use and if boiled sufficiently is safe for consumption as well. That way water need not be carried upstairs. She has not told the others what she did.

“You’re really just going to leave me here?” Blurted out. “With your things, alone?”

Vastra steps close. “Do you believe I could find you if you stole from me and ran?”

Jenny meets those piercing blue eyes. “Yes.”

“Good Here is the key to the lock. Lock it when you leave and bar it at night.”

“What if you return?”

“I have other ways to get in.” Straightening, checking her scarf. “I must go, it will soon be dawn. Rest, for you will be busy when I return.”

She’s gone.

“Oh, lord, Jenny Flint,” she whispered as she looked around the dark attic. “What have you gotten yourself into this time?”

The End


End file.
